STRAWBERRY POINT -- The Maquoketa River long ago cut a meandering path south through Northeast Iowa and on to the Mississippi.

Its waters pass through Backbone State Park, several towns and forests. It is a certainty the path will stay the same long into the future. What isn't certain is the effect of proposed state clean water regulations on the river, those towns and the hundreds of people who use it as a recreational stop each year.

The rules under consideration by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources tighten discharge rules for wastewater treatment plants, while simultaneously changing the protective designation on nearly 300 waterways throughout the state.

"Water quality will only improve as a result of this effort," said Adam Schnieders, a DNR environmental specialist.

In many cases, protection is added to streams that don't have any, DNR officials said. It also helps to soften the hit many small towns will face after having to dramatically upgrade their wastewater treatment plants.

But some sportsmen and environmentalists say the incremental improvements constitute a violation of the spirit of the federal Clean Water Act.

"What we're supporting is maintaining the highest standards for all of the water quality in rivers and having cities apply for exceptions in order to pollute, as opposed to lowering the standards on all of Iowa's rivers and deciding to clean up the rivers later," said Peter Komendowski, a Waterloo paddler and member of the Iowa Water Trails Advisory Committee.

Making waves

Many critics concede the proposed rules are a large improvement in water quality over two years ago.

At that time, the major waterways -- the Mississippi and Missouri, along with interior rivers like major portions of the Cedar, Des Moines and Wapsipincon rivers -- were covered. But not much else.

"It's a huge water quality improvement," Schnieders said. "The key point here is that none of these streams have received a recreational use protection or an aquatic life protection to the level that we're asking for."

The rules, originally passed in 2006, set limits on the amount of ammonia and bacteria, like E. coli, that can be discharged into rivers by wastewater treatment plants. They also extended protection to approximately 26,000 miles of perennial streams and rivers.

Lawmakers worried such a large expansion could cause Iowans' water bills to radically increase. They mandated the DNR conduct assessments on those streams to make sure they could actually be used for recreation, which is a criteria for protection under the Clean Water Act. The assessments occurred only on streams where a plant with a National Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems permit was located.

Schnieders said streams received a higher level of protection based levels of recreation, not on water quality or other characteristics.

"It doesn't matter for us if the water is full of crocodiles, covered in barbed wire, on fire -- all of these things. We're not necessarily looking at that," Schnieders said. "… It's not exactly what's existing, but what's possible. What use could be supported there?"

The results of those assessments lit the latest fire of controversy. Environmental groups say the DNR hasn't applied the highest standard of recreation equally. The groups lodged more than 1,200 comments with the department over the standards. The DNR even had to extend that comment period to Jan. 2 because of the attention.

Rivers and streams were classified into several categories. The main ones are "full body contact" recreation, the highest class, including swimming and water-skiing. The next level, "incidental contact," includes boating, canoeing and fishing. A third category, "children's play" is essentially the same as swimming, Schnieders said.

The problem environmentalists have is when rivers were changed from "full contact" to "incidental contact."

Major waterways like the Volga and Turkey rivers received the highest protections. Others, like the Maquoketa River on either side of Backbone State Park received the secondary level.

"When you have a recreational destination like that, when you have a lot of people in the water, you really want to make sure the standards are going to be protective of public health," said Susan Heathcote, water program director for the Iowa Environmental Council.

The DNR's water trails advisory committee also sent the department a letter last month criticizing the standards. Many rivers on the "incidental contact" list are used for canoeing and kayaking. The committee said the agency's assessment criteria "was not nearly thorough enough to justify" reclassifying the streams.

Schnieders said the rules set forth in 2006 set the criteria for the assessments. The status of some rivers may change to reflect public comments, he said.

By and large, the assessments were able to properly identify all streams, he said. The comments will help to refine the plan.

"With any criteria, no matter how much qualitative data you have, it's going to boil down to a qualitative decision, a judgment call," he said.

And the new criteria are a big improvement over current standards because pathogens are drastically reduced, Schnieders said. The maximum bacteria level for the incidental contact class will be 2,800 colony-forming bacteria, such as E. coli, per 100 milliliters of water. For the full body contact level, it is 235 bacteria.

"Obviously the standards are set in the hundreds, so it doesn't matter. Either way, (cities) will have to put in disinfection to improve water quality," he said.

Nathan Lein, a water program legal analyst for the Iowa Environmental Council, said a "balancing test" has gone on between water quality rules and the effect they have on an area. One factor is the cost of upgrades to wastewater treatment plants.

Oelwein recently finished construction on a new treatment plant, and rates there have tripled to pay for the operation, Lein said.

Fluid situation

The sound of the Cedar River rushing over a dam fills Charles City's downtown. The stretch from Charles City to Nashua is among the newly protected waterways identified by the DNR.

That is good for a town recently named one of the Great Iowa Places, said City Administrator Tom Brownlow. The riverfront was one of the major reasons the city was chosen, he said.

"We want the river to be classified for recreational purposes because that's exactly what we want to have happen here in Charles City," he said.

But that may cost the city up to $60,000 for improvements to its sewer treatment plant. That will go for equipment to sanitize discharge from the plant, Brownlow said. City officials still don't know the full effect of the rules, he said.

The new rules will affect an estimated 330 water treatment plants -- two-thirds run by cities, the DNR said. The cost to those plants will be between $790 million and $956 million, the DNR's Schnieders said. Plants must upgrade before they are issued new operating permits.

Elkader will likely have to invest $5 million in a new water treatment plant. The Clayton County town uses an aerated lagoon system, which may become obsolete under the new standards. Residents' water bills may triple in coming years.

Manchester is in the midst of a $7.5 million plant upgrade, fueled in part by the new standards, said City Manager Tim Vick. The city began planning two years ago. While standards for ammonia and bacteria discharge hadn't been set, Vick said, the city expected them to be high.

The Maquoketa River, which passes through Manchester, is on the protected list. That one reason for the upgrade. Another is that the plant hasn't been updated since 1981, and has hard time coping with existing discharge limits.

"We've been bumping the ammonia limit for a while now," he said.

Residents are feeling the effects of the plant work. Monthly water rates went up almost $10 a month last year, and will go up by that same amount in July.

Schnieders said the DNR received as many comments from cities and residents upset by increasing water rates as it did from environmentalists upset about lowered standards.

The DNR has been working with various groups, from the League of Cities to the Iowa Water Pollution Control Association, to find a way to meet the new limits without bankrupting cities. Some solutions, like revolving loan funds, will help pay for the projects, Schnieders said. The department was also required by the Legislature to draft economic hardship rules to help small cities cope.

Anxious advocates

Not everyone believes economic hardship is an excuse for lower standards. Peter Komendowski, of the trails board, muses that if water rates were higher, people might learn to be better stewards.

"Well, if water is harder to keep clean, maybe we should pay more to keep it cleaner," he said.

Komendowski said the current proposals give in to "politicking" from large industries like agriculture, distorting the goal of the Clean Water Act in Iowa. He said a strong standard needs to be established now, not incrementallly.

"We want the highest level of water quality standards for all the rivers in Iowa, and we want people to petition to exceed those levels as opposed lowering any standards and cleaning them up later," he said.

Advocates like Komendowski don't like the idea of a standard guideline because it obscures the ultimate goal, or serves as an excuse for lower quality. Criteria like "minimum depth" end up being distractions.

For the highest level of protection, streams must be at least 19 inches deep over 50 percent of the protected span. That depth is considered enough for recreation activities like swimming for a full-grown adult. About 1,300 streams and rivers in the first set of river reviews met that requirement. Another 2,900 fell under the '"incidental" classification.

The streams under that section varied greatly, Schnieders said. Some were like the Maquoketa River. Others were "as wide as your office door and as deep as your coffee cup," he said.

Schnieders said Iowa's process has helped to protect many more miles of streams by using the "incidental contact" designation than if they stuck with the highest level of protection. And the system is a lot more flexible than those of neighboring states.

"Some states live and die by that depth criteria," he said.

Heathcote, of the environmental council, said there should be other considerations, because the depth requirements can be misleading.

"We are not satisfied with the initial recommendation for the use designations," she said.

In some rivers, there are deep holes where people could swim. Others are deep enough for young children to play in.

The DNR uses its "childrens' play" designation to cover some of those areas, Schnieders said. Many of the areas "on the bubble" between primary and secondary usages may get this new designation, he said.

For the activists, that could be good news. However, Heathcote said, the council will keep a watchful eye on outcome.

"We're hopeful with the comments that have been submitted, we'll see more of these rivers contact for their primary use designations," she said.

Contact Josh Nelson at (319) 291-1565 or josh.nelson@wcfcourier.com.