Tag: nitrate
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Lawsuit Dismissal Spells Bad News for Iowa Water Quality
Central Iowans got bad news about the quality of their drinking water on Friday when a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by the Des Moines Water Works against three northern Iowa drainage districts. In 2015, the public utility – which provides clean drinking water to 500,000 residents of central Iowa – sued three drainage districts…
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Wisconsin Farm Group Admits Tainting Drinking Water, Keeps Failing Residents
What if your neighbor poured toxic chemicals into your drinking water but only agreed to pay for part of the cleanup? You probably wouldn’t be happy. Well, that’s exactly what’s happening in northeastern Wisconsin. A farm group, called Peninsula Pride Farms, recently admitted to being responsible for E. coli, a toxic bacteria, in drinking water.…
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Will Diversions Introduce Nutrients That Harm Wetland Vegetation?
Aerial picture of the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion outfall canal (on the right) and the delta built by the diversion in Big Mar Pond. The photo was taken on July 17, 2014. Note the lush, green vegetation on the newly built delta includes wetland grasses and black willow trees. All of these plants colonized on their…
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Kansas Researchers Say Climate Change Will Deteriorate Midwest Water Quality
Following periods of drought, heavy rains and flooding can flush nitrate out of dry soil and into drinking water. In 2016, the Cedar River flooded areas of northeast Iowa, shown here. Midwesterners are used to extreme weather. We take pride in enduring everything from torrential downpours to the most desiccating drought. Climate change is expected…
