DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The lawsuit filed by the Des Moines Water Works against several upstream agriculture drainage districts will not go to trial in August. A three-week federal court trial was initially set to begin Aug. 8 but on Monday Judge Leonard Strand issued an order continuing it due to scheduling conflicts. A new date will be set when he meets with attorneys on May 11.

The water utility for about 500,000 central Iowa customers blames farmland runoff for high levels of nitrate that has caused it to spend millions of dollars to remove the contaminant to comply with federal water quality regulations.

Water Works officials want farm drainage districts to have to get pollution discharge permits under the federal Clean Water Act to help control farm contaminants leaching into rivers and streams.