Water rights are usually an issue for arid areas. Iowa is not a desert. Some of its cities, however, are downstream of farmland (not a surprise). The fertilizer and runoff are so severe that the city has to pay for the cleanup if its citizens are going to have clean water. Clean water isn’t always a fight between countries or power versus irrigation versus fisheries versus navigation. It is increasingly something to work out between upstream and downstream.
“This Water Lawsuit Could Be Huge And It’s Happening In … Iowa?” – Grist
Pretending Not To Panic 