Local commissioner raises PFAS and water-filtering concerns during open forum

During open forum, Veronica Lack identified herself as a Soil and Water Conservation commissioner and raised concerns about PFAS contamination and the lack of cost‑effective local filtration options.

Lack told the council she is pursuing litigation against the state of Iowa and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to obtain information on PFAS removal. She said current filtration systems are expensive and, in one cited example, took months to replace, shutting down drinking water for a county while awaiting equipment that was made overseas. “We need to develop filters to get these PFAS chemicals out,” Lack said, adding that manufacturers’ herbicides and chemical suppliers contribute to what she called “PFAs forever chemicals.”

Lack also asserted that glyphosate and similar chemicals have negative reproductive impacts and suggested such contaminants are found in water; she said filtration technology and domestic production will require large investments. The council did not take formal action on the comments, and staff did not present a response during the meeting.

The remarks were delivered as citizen comments and did not constitute a staff report, council motion or legal briefing. Statements about litigation, public-health impacts and the state of filtration technology were presented by the speaker and would require independent verification before being reported as established fact.