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Warming winters lead to more nitrate pollution in the drinking water near farms
Warm thaws and runoff forced Des Moines to filter drinking water in January and February, costing about $16,000 a day, officials said.
- For only the second time in more than 30 years, Iowa's capital, Des Moines, filtered nitrates from drinking water during January and February as winter thaws increased runoff into local rivers.
- Warmer winters prevent deep soil freezes, allowing melting snow and rain to carry farm fertilizers into waterways, according to Iowa state climatologist Justin Glisan, who noted that ingredients for these pollution events are becoming more frequent.
- Filtering dangerous nitrates costs Des Moines around $16,000 daily, while nitrate pollution threatens private wells used by around 15% of the United States population, said University of California-Davis professor Samuel Sandoval Solis.
- Des Moines Water Works CEO Amy Kahler is developing resiliency plans for future pollution, while critics challenge the Trump EPA's recent decision to delist seven Iowa waterways from federal protection under the Clean Water Act.
- Carol Adair of the University of Vermont warns that winter nutrient pollution could worsen downstream, potentially contributing to an area of low oxygen known as a "dead zone" where runoff kills marine life.
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Associated Press News+12 Reposted by 12 other sources
Warming winters lead to more nitrate pollution in the drinking water near farms
Pollution levels in Iowa's water have been abnormally high this winter. That's forcing the state's largest city, Des Moines, to run an expensive nitrate removal system that they usually only use in the summer.
·United States
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When pollution worsens enough in rivers that supply drinking water to the largest city in Iowa, Des Moines costs about $16,000 a day to operate a special system to filter dangerous nitrates. It is an inevitable fact in the state, which depends on agriculture, and climate change further worsens the problem of water quality.
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Total News Sources15
Leaning Left3Leaning Right2Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution55% Center
Bias Distribution
- 55% of the sources are Center
55% Center
L 27%
C 55%
R 18%
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