(Des Moines, IA) — A list released by the Department of Natural Resources finds 750 lakes, streams, or rivers tested in Iowa are officially impaired. That means they don’t meet water quality standards for at least one intended use. More than 60-percent of the bodies of water tested were deficient.
A spokesperson for the Iowa Environmental Council says the analysis shows that the state’s current approach to water quality isn’t working. Alicia Vasto says regulation is needed.
D-N-R scientists found that just 16 tested segments of bodies of water met the standards.
Impaired waterways on the list in Dickinson county include Center Lake, the Center Lake Wildlife Management Area, Diamond Lake, Dugout Creek, East Lake Okoboji, Jemmerson Slough, Lake Park Pond, Lily Lake, the Little Sioux River, Little Spirit Lake, Lower Gar, Marble Lake, Milford Creek, Lake Minnewashta, Pleasant Lake, Prairie Lake, Sandbar Slough, Silver Lake, Sunken Lake, Swan Lake, Little Swan Lake, an unnamed tributary to Lower Gar Lake, Welch Lake, the West Fork of the Little Sioux River, West Hottes Lake, and surprisingly enough, West Lake Okoboji.
