Supervisors Rehash Contentious Water Quality Discussion

Without local news, all we have are rumors. Keep facts alive — give now. DECORAH — Winneshiek County supervisors revisited water quality monitoring Monday morning during a second run-through of the fiscal year 2027 budget, one week after voting down funding for a monitoring station. Supervisor Mark Faldet raised the need for data collection, while Supervisor Mark Vick reiterated his opposition. Supervisor Steve Kelsay criticized what he described as a lack of action from the Decorah City Council. "I didn't see any offers from the City Council to participate since their water basically comes out of the Upper Iowa. I never heard them make any suggestions," Kelsay said. "I can't make decisions for them," Faldet responded. "I can't either," Kelsay said, "but I don't see them stepping up." Vick said the county already provides water tests at no cost. "You need a filter or something? We do it. We're doing our job. We do the Turkey Valley, we're doing it for northeast Iowa," Vick said. Faldet said the county needs objective data to guide future decisions and understand long-term impacts. "We don't do [testing] on the Upper Iowa," Faldet said. "We do it on the Turkey, that's great, but we need statistics to be able to move forward in the future." He said the Upper Iowa River presents unique considerations and should not be grouped with other watersheds in the region. "This is a different river, and it has a whole different set of ramifications," Faldet said. Faldet also said the cost of monitoring would be minimal compared to potential long-term consequences. "What it is is negligible compared to what the long-term costs are going to be down the road," he said. "That's your opinion," Vick responded. No motion was made and no action was taken. The board previously rejected a proposal to fund a single water quality monitoring station during budget deliberations last week. Fresh stories, delivered! Sign up for the free DecorahNews.com newsletter and stay informed, inspired, and ahead of the curve. No motion was made and no action was taken. The board previously rejected a proposal to fund a single water quality monitoring station during budget deliberations last week.