Water quality regulations focus of CL meeting

CLEAR LAKE | Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials met with eight area residents on Tuesday to discuss Iowa water-quality regulations.

The event at the Clear Lake Lakeview Room was part of the three-year review cycle for standards imposed under the federal Clean Water Act.

Were here to listen to the public, what concerns they have, what changes theyd like to see and what impacts they might anticipate coming from those changes, said Roger Bruner, supervisor of the DNR water-quality monitoring and assessment section.

DNR Water Quality Standards Coordinator Rochelle Weiss outlined the types of regulations and water bodies covered under this review.

She noted the focus was measurable pollutant discharges from individual facilities with specific points of entry into a river or stream, known as point-source discharges.

Facilities producing such discharges, she said, must obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits stipulating the type and amount.

Increases are normally permitted only if determined to be in keeping with public safety and water-quality goals and after establishing there is no reasonable alternative.

Accepted levels vary by substance and by water body, with bodies classified based on such variables as size, flow characteristics, water temperature, aquatic life supported and types of human recreational usage.

Specific changes being contemplated are primarily technical, Bruner noted, involving adjustments to methods for allocating waste loads and to techniques used in monitoring levels of metals and other chemicals.

During public comments, some participants voiced questions and concerns regarding other water-quality issues.

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Water quality regulations focus of CL meeting