DNR Ordered to Gauge Water Quality of Bloody Run Creek

The Iowa Court of Appeals is ordering the Department of Natural Resources to investigate the water quality of a stream in Clayton County – siding with a citizens’ group, the Driftless Water Defenders. 

For years, they watched nitrate levels rise in Bloody Run Creek, and claim the pollution comes from a cattle operation first approved by the DNR in 2017. The group’s lawyer, James Larew, says the stream is a symbol of Iowa’s declining water quality, and they want a good faith investigation.

The DNR has 30 days from the ruling to start its investigation or to appeal the decision to the Iowa Supreme Court. Larew says Bloody Run Creek was one Iowa’s cleanest streams until the cattle operation opened near its headwaters almost a decade ago.

The DNR did not respond to Radio Iowa’s request for comment on this story.

story courtesy of Radio Iowa