Nutrient Pollution Drives Nitrate Problems in Decatur Drinking Water Source

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 15:59:14 +0000

Surrounded by some of the world’s richest soil and home to two major grain processing plants, Decatur has long been a hub for agribusiness in the United States.

One major trade-off comes in the form of excess nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, that runoff from fertilizers used on local farm fields and from discharges from wastewater treatment plants and factories.

In an effort to make the water safe to drink, Decatur, Illinois constructed a $7.6 million nitrate reduction facility in 2002. But, that does not mean the nutrients have gone away as runoff from farms in the lake’s watershed and wastewater discharge from heavy industry find their way into the lake and, eventually, beyond.

Raccoon River Pollution Threatens Drinking Water With Nitrates and Toxic Algae

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 15:11:56 +0000

A national environmental organization labeled the Raccoon River one of the country’s most endangered because of toxic algae and nitrates. Des Moines Water Works called it a “catastrophe,” as the Raccoon is the major source for drinking water for a half-million Iowans.

Des Moines Water Works, after dumping as much as $250,000 a year into buying water from the increasingly polluted Saylorville Lake, is now considering a $50 million treatment plant expansion. But who will pay for it?

The report that labeled the Raccoon River endangered blamed the problem on the farm chemicals and livestock manure that are running from those emerald fields into our increasingly sickly green rivers and streams. However a lawsuit to share the cost with upstream polluters failed along with a separate case against the state of Iowa alleging the state was violating the public trust by failing to protect the Raccoon River from pollution.

Read More https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2021/07/12/green-water-is-costing-iowans-millions-of-greenbacks/

nitrates – Aquarius-Systems

Nutrient Pollution Drives Nitrate Problems in Decatur Drinking Water Source

Raccoon River Pollution Threatens Drinking Water With Nitrates and Toxic Algae