(Des Moines, Iowa) – The State Department of Natural Resources says a city in Pottawattamie County has for years, failed to comply  with federal requirements to limit the amount of pollutants in its stormwater collection system. Carter Lake, with a population of about 3,800, is among the smallest cities in the state that have the requirements, which is due to its location in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area. It is among nearly 50 cities and universities in densely populated areas that are subject to the rules.

Carter Lake is a small part of Iowa that lies west of the Missouri River near Eppley Airfield. (Photo courtesy of Google Earth)

The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports rainfall in the city flows into a stormwater system that pipes it to Carter Lake — a so-called “oxbow lake” that was once a segment of the Missouri River. Flooding in 1877 rerouted the Missouri and left a small part of Iowa on the west side of the river, which is now the city of Carter Lake.

Iowa DNR Senior Environmental Specialist Alison Manz, says the DNR for years has sought to get the city into compliance as a small municipal separate storm sewer system, but those efforts have been stymied by leadership changes in the city. The city had failed since at least 2018 to create plans, programs or ordinances to operate and maintain its collection system, manage pesticide and fertilizer applications, inspect illegal pollutant discharges, and monitor for construction site runoff, according to a recent DNR order.

The city is also required to have information on its website for residents and to form a stormwater advisory committee. For five years, it did not submit a mandatory annual report that documents all of those actions.

Carter Lake recently agreed to pay an $8,000 fine for the violations and to comply with the requirements in the future.

In May, the city posted an advisory to its Facebook page that warned residents about the potential for yard waste to pollute the lake and kill fish. The note said residents should bag grass clippings, leaves and other plant material and compost them.