Photograph of Bill Stowe
Many hydrologists in Minnesota were aware of the brawl being waged in Iowa between Des Moines water suppliers and farmers over the contamination of drinking water by nitrate. Bill Stowe, former CEO of the Des Moines Water Works in Iowa, was the public face of this struggle, working to get the farmers to help pay for the rising costs of providing clean drinking water, and to reduce the release of nitrate to Iowa’s water resources. Though the Utility continues its struggles, it is being done without the help of Bill, who died on April 14, 2019. Excerpts from an article in the 2019 issue of Iowa Ground Water Association’s newsletter are provided below, along with a link to the full issue. The article was written by Katie Goff and Claire Hruby, Ph.D.
William Gaylord Stowe, the CEO and General Manager of Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) died on April 14, 2019. He was 60 and fought a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. A public servant, Stowe had spent 7 years at DMWW. Prior to that he was the Director of Public Works for the City of Des Moines for 13 years.
Stowe was born and raised on a farm in Nevada, Iowa, and played basketball at Grinnell College. He earned masters’ degrees at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Illinois, and later, a law degree at Loyola. Stowe spent time in the steel, coal, and energy industries prior to entering the realm of public works. His varied background in business, law, and engineering provided unique expertise and problem solving for public issues. Stowe is survived by his wife, Amy, and their son, Liam.
Stowe spearheaded DMWW’s lawsuit filed in 2015 against three Iowa counties located northwest of Des Moines. The counties are home to tile-drainage districts in the upper reaches of the Raccoon River, which is the primary source of drinking-water for the Des Moines metro area (approximately 500,000 people).
The argument stated that the ratepayers of DMWW were paying a premium to clean up the unregulated agricultural discharge entering the watershed upstream. Stowe estimated that to accommodate the increased nitrate loads, the utility needed to spend an additional $80 million dollars to upgrade capacity of their nitrate removal facility. The lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in 2017, on the grounds that the issue was a matter for the Iowa legislature to sort out.
Stowe presented at IGWA’s spring 2016 meeting about the lawsuit, Iowa’s degraded surface waters, and who foots the bill for agricultural contamination. In his presentation, Stowe praised the science behind Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy, but criticized the voluntary nature of its approach as woefully insufficient to meet the ambitious goals of 45% reduction in both nitrogen and phosphorus. This opinion earned him a lot of praise from water quality advocates, and also a lot of heat. Bill expressed frustration about being labeled by some as “anti-farmer” and by the often repeated “urban vs. rural” narrative. “Farmers drink this water,” he said, “their animals drink this water, their children drink this water, and their grandchildren will drink this water, too.”
To access the full article on the Iowa Ground Water Association site, click on the link and select IGWA UnderGround, Summer 2019 issue:
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