When I am near water, my soul quiets. The sound of moving water and the feeling of it lapping against my feet brings rejuvenation. I look for reasons to be near it, to play with my three sons in it. We even live on property with a creek running through it. But now I have more than 10,000 reasons to avoid it.

Iowa has placed the profits of its 10,000 large animal feeding operations and the corporations who own the animals, ahead of the well-being of its citizens. These operations house thousands of animals and produce millions of gallons of waste that are as hazardous as human waste. It is spread directly on fields, untreated near where people live and children play. The waste is running off the fields and ruining the quality of our water, closing beaches and making it more expensive to drink. 

The people of Iowa — our children — are owed clean, safe waterways, something that can be accomplished with stricter rules against factory and farm pollution and a moratorium on more confinements.

When I am near water, I want my soul to be at rest, not anxious about what harms may be lurking unseen. Since the Iowa legislature won’t protect our rights, we had to file this lawsuit against the state. For this reason, I am proud to support Iowa CCI and FWW’s lawsuit against the State of Iowa to clean up our waterways.