Iowa Public
Television's "Iowa Journal" program --
Thursday -- May
15
8:30 PM
Show
summary:
There are many
ways Iowans pollute their waterways: manure runoff from
livestock feeding
operations, underground tiles that drain excess water
that often contains
fertilizer from farm fields to a nearby river or
creek, leaking underground
fuel tanks and septic sewage systems.
There is also a
threat from many of the more than 1,200 underground
municipal and industrial
wastewater treatment facilities. Statewide,
much of the underground
infrastructure is 50 to 100 years old --
and
crumbling.
The cost to
replace underground pipes and upgrade treatment facilities
can cost
communities millions of dollars. But if pollution violations
persist,
communities can face up to a $10,000 fine from the Iowa
Department of Natural
Resources. The Iowa Journal visited Boone and
Sheldahl, two communities
facing such fines until they moved forward
with costly
upgrades.
Studio
guests: Susan Heathcote, Water Program Director with the
Iowa
Environmental Council, an advocacy group that works on
environmental
public policy issues and Wayne Gieselman, Division
Administrator of the
Environmental Services Division of the Iowa Department
of Natural
Resources.