"A lawsuit aimed at creating mandatory water quality regulations to reduce farm pollution in the Raccoon River will not proceed after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the case asked the courts to infringe on the powers of the legislature.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and Food & Water Watch filed the lawsuit in March 2019. They argued the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, the state's policy encouraging farmers to adopt conservation practices voluntarily, has failed to protect the Raccoon River as a public resource for drinking water and recreation.

The river is a primary supply of water for the Des Moines Water Works and the approximately 500,000 people it serves, but is routinely contaminated with high levels of nitrates and other nutrients related to livestock manure and fertilizer runoff from farm fields."
 
Grant Gerlock reports for Iowa Public Radio June 18, 2021. [2]