With litigation be­­hind us, Iowans have a real opportunity to address water quality, in­­frastructure and regional governance in a meaning­ful way. Pre­viously, dialog­ue surrounding a regional water facility had been impeded, but now it appears that many stakeholders are interested in making headway.

As regionalization discussions move forward, it’s critical to understand the driving force behind the need for infrastructure upgrades and consider solutions that benefit all players.

This means understanding that population growth in the booming metro area, rather than nitrate content in source waters, is a major driver of needed upgrades to our water utility. We’re...