Des Moines Water Works General Manager and CEO Bill Stowe today blasted Gov. Kim Reynolds’ call for long-term support of voluntary efforts to clean Iowa’s waterways, suggesting that approach won’t work. Stowe, who for years has suggested that regulations on farm chemical applications are needed, pointed to a Cedar Rapids Gazette analysis of spending on cover crops as one sign of the weakness of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, which calls for voluntary actions on farms but regulatory control of other pollution sources such as sewage treatment plants. The Gazette found that less than 2 percent of the $5 million available for cover crop project grants last year went to farmers in the 10 counties included in the Raccoon and Des Moines river watersheds that provide drinking water for nearly 500,000 customers of Water Works. “Passing legislation and then crossing our fingers and hoping it works is no way to address our water quality issues in our state,” Stowe said. “Even more important than a sustainable long-term approach to water quality, we must have accountability, and we should focus resources on the areas in which they can make the biggest impact.”