The Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) should consider alternatives to its current practice of discharging nitrates and other substances it removes from its water sources back into the Raccoon River, the Iowa Farm Bureau and other farm and agribusiness organizations said last week in written comments to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The groups, in response to the DMWW’s application for a National Pollutant Discharge Elim­ination System (NPDES) permit under the Clean Water Act, noted that it was "hypocritical" for the DMWW to rely only on discharging while dismissing other alternatives.

At the same time, they said, the DMWW...