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ihaveaquestion

(4,111 posts) Thu Sep 25, 2025, 11:44 AM Thursday

Beneath the surface of Iowa's water crisis - Environmental Working Group (EWG)

TNL’s Editor-in-Chief Carey Gillam traveled to Iowa to hear directly from the people living through an ongoing water crisis. In conversations with residents, farmers, politicians and scientists, a troubling picture emerged: dangerously high levels of nitrates and pesticides are contaminating drinking water across the state. Many fear this pollution is fueling Iowa’s unusually high — and still rising — cancer rates.

Community members share personal stories of illness and frustration, while farmers and politicians struggle to navigate the tension between protecting a farm-driven economy and addressing growing concerns over water safety and public health.

See the full series: www.thenewlede.org/cancer-in-the-corn-belt/

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Beneath the surface of Iowa's water crisis - Environmental Working Group (EWG) (Original Post) ihaveaquestion Thursday OP

This message was self-deleted by its author Bernardo de La Paz Friday #1

This is what happens when states turn red... ananda Friday #2

The underlying problem seems to be The Revolution Friday #3

Response to ihaveaquestion (Original post)

Bernardo de La Paz This message was self-deleted by its author.

ananda

(33,428 posts)

2. This is what happens when states turn red...

Reply to ihaveaquestion (Original post)

Fri Sep 26, 2025, 08:16 AM

Friday

no environmental protections.

The Revolution

(860 posts)

3. The underlying problem seems to be

Reply to ananda (Reply #2)

Fri Sep 26, 2025, 10:49 AM

Friday

An agricultural issue, vesus a strictly political one, with nitrate levels rising across a variety of states this century.

https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/2020-nitrate-pollution-of-drinking-water-for-more-than-20-million-americans-is-getting-worse/

Data obtained under public records laws shows that between 2003 and 2017, tests detected elevated levels of nitrate in the tap water supplies of more than 4,000 community water systems in the states with the most widespread contamination – California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.

Iowa:

Average nitrate contamination across these communities jumped by 29 percent between 2003 and 2017. In 2003, average contamination was 3.66 mg/L. By 2009, average contamination had increased to 3.90 mg/L and continued climbing to 4.71 mg/L in 2017.

California:

Average nitrate contamination across the communities analyzed jumped by 31 percent between 2003 and 2017. In 2003, average contamination was 4.36 mg/L. By 2009, average contamination had increased to 4.98 mg/L and continued climbing to 5.83 mg/L in 2017.

That is a little older data, but I saw this from earlier this year, which would seem to indicate the runoff from agriculture is still a problem:

https://kingswateralliance.org/the-nitrate-story-in-california/

Nitrate is all around us, and the central valley of California is no exception. In ~40% of domestic wells* across parts of Fresno, Kings, and Tulare Counties, nitrate levels are above the safe limit of 10mg/L. EPA’s maximum contaminant level (MCL) for nitrate is set to protect against blue-baby syndrome.

Perhaps this would be a good issue for Democrats to run on in both state and national levels, though I'm not sure if a message of increased regulation would work well in the current political climate. Perhaps a better approach would be an anti-corruption message focused on getting money out of politics, even if that requires a Constitutional amendment. In the long run, that could break the power of lobbying groups that prevent action from being taken in the first place.

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