In Iowa and elsewhere, runoff from fertilized fields and roads polluting drinking water and creating dead zones. That water eventually drains into our lakes, rivers and streams.
Water is a renewable resource that if taken care of better and properly can have long beneficial factors for humans, agriculture and animals. Runoff from farmland, caused by storms and tiling, is sending nitrates and other chemicals into Iowa's waterways, which cause a host of problems downstream. The effects of it can causes high nitrates in our water and has been linked to health concerns such as, birth defects, cancers, brain tumors, and thyroid problems. Mike Trautmann, a content specialist for the quality of life team is worried that if we do not change the ways we farm as in tilling and the excessive usage of pesticides and fertilizer we use on our crops/farmlands it will only make it harder for us to get
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The runoff from farms, Iowa has more than 600 polluted rivers, lakes and streams, causing a nitrate surge in our drinking water.The nitrate levels have increases tremendously over the use due to cropping styles and technology has changed. In the result of killing plants, insects, and animals in and around the affected waters. As of right now the nitrates levels have been the highest ever. According to Donnelle Eller a register analysis of water-quality research, "in the '60s, '70s and '80s, so did nitrates — climbing from an average of around 2 milligrams per liter from 1906-1954 to more than 7 milligrams per liter from 1954-2010" (The Des Moines register, 2015). Nitrates are also affecting our lakes and rivers. The Raccoon River is one out of other rivers in Iowa that has a 11is getting effected from the farmland runoff that is a source of drinking water for 500,00 residents. The daily concentration of the nitrate level right now in the Racoon river is 11.5 milligrams per
Currently, the United State’s Gulf of Mexico experiences an annual, seasonal “dead zone” as a result of hypoxia. Hypoxia is a low level of dissolved oxygen (<2mg/L) in an area of water. Hypoxia is typically temporary and seasonal, but the low oxygen levels can be devastating to aquatic organisms. Hypoxia occurs in many oceanic waters worldwide, but there is a growing area of concern in our Gulf of Mexico coast. Hypoxia is largely caused by nitrogen fertilizer application for agriculture, with heavy concentrations coming from the Midwestern US. Nitrogen mobilizes as nitrate, and is transported via surface water runoff. The runoff enters tile-drain supported ditches, enters streams and joins the Mississippi river, eventually reaching the gulf. Nitrate mobilization is a problem for human health, and ag. runoff is also often attributed to the contamination of surface and well-water sources in rural areas. High levels of nitrates restrict the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen. This can harm humans, and is the major cause of infant methemoglobinemia, or “blue baby syndrome”. The safe drinking level standard is 10mg/L.
In the town of Tooleville, California resident, Maria, bathes her child with water that she traveled to a neighboring city to buy so that her child will not get sick from the nitrate contamination in their water. The town of Tooleville is 82.3% Latinx, and has two major wells, both of which contain unsafe levels of nitrates. As a result, the 339 residents have had to deal with nitrate contamination for years and do not have the water they need to meet their basic human needs. Throughout California there are many communities like Tooleville that do not have access to safe drinking water. California State Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel) proposed a new bill, Senate Bill 623 (SB623), as a solution for communities specifically like Tooleville.
About 80% of the State’s surveyed freshwater rivers and streams have good water quality that fully supports aquatic life uses, 17% have fair water quality that partially supports aquatic life uses, and 3% have poor water quality that does not support aquatic life uses. Ten percent of the surveyed rivers do not fully support swimming. The major sources of impairment are agriculture (responsible for 53% of the impaired river miles), urban runoff (responsible for 16%), and construction (responsible for 13%). These sources generate siltation, bacteria, and organic wastes that deplete disssolved opxygen.
The First reason Iowa’s water is causing health concerns is because it is polluting Iowa’s water. According to Clay Master’s article Iowa’s Nasty Water War (2016), states that “Nitrates have become so prevalent in the rivers of Iowa that the Des Moines Water Works installed in the 90s a special facility to extract the pollutant from its drinking
...le harming crops up to 8 years later. Nitrogen is an important element, whether it is in water or some other form, but either way it can easily be a vicious pollutant.
The Colorado River resides in North America at 1,450 miles long it spans from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado flowing southwest through six other states into Mexico. During the 19th century, settlement within this region was limited to merely accessing the Colorado River. Back then adjacent water was strictly used to support life. Today, with our advanced water treatment and transportation methods, water is known for its more loose sense of sustaining “life” and that is of an economic sense. Now, we utilize water for more than just drinking. We apply water to trigger industry, mass produce agriculture, generate power and even recreationally. With our new thirsts we encounter dizzying demands for water. As we use this water for economic gains we take increasing amounts from the river. The water that is returned is then of severely lower quality causing detrimental effects to biologic life. To complicate the problem at hand the Colorado River has experienced drought since 1999. Currently, according to The Bureau of Reclamation, most areas of the river are experiencing extreme drought conditions. The Colorado River is not only degrading, but also drying up due to climate change and poor water management, consequently modern human development is impeded and the environment permanently scarred, therefore to prevent further damage local and state authorities should plan to alter wasteful methods of water management.
In 1969, the Cuyahoga River (in Cleveland, Ohio) caught on fire because it was “polluted from decades of industrial waste.” Furthermore, after the river set on fire for the final time, the government of Cleveland stepped in to stop the factories’ water runoff into the river. They no longer allowed the factories to have overflow into the river, Although the main problem was fixed for the present, another problem was creeping up: runoff from large industrial farms. Pollution is a serious matter, because if our world gets polluted, it will no longer be safe or healthy to live. The way people eat has a big part in pollution. If they eat locally, or at least try to, they can help cut down on out pollution. The method of Local Sustainable farming
Already scientists have observed that more than 75% of the recent economic losses are caused by natural hazards which can be attributed to wind storms, floods, droughts and other climate related hazards. In the year 2008, the U.S. state of Iowa was on the front pages of newspapers all around the world. Weeks of heavy rain in the Midwest caused rivers to swell and levees to break. Millions of acres of farmland are now underwater, their plantings most likely destroyed. By March, Iowa had tied its third-highest monthly snowfall in 121 years of record keeping, and then came the rain. April’s st...
Sodium Nitrates and Nitrites, are two of the most common food additives in America. Nitrites are compounds consisting of one nitrogen atom and two oxygen atoms, while nitrates contain one nitrogen atom, and 3 oxygen atoms. These additives are most commonly used in processed meat products in order to increase shelf life and give these processed meats their distinctive red color and flavor. (UK Food Guide) Nitrates, and Nitrites are in meats such as ham, bacon, corned beef, etc. These additives stop the growth of bacterial spores that cause botulism, one of the deadliest foodborne illnesses. However, what is not always known is that these additives have been proven to be carcinogenic, meaning that consumption of too much of these kinds of processed
... (The Issues: Factory Farming, n.d.). Nutrients and bacteria from that waste can also contaminate waterways, disturbing the aquatic ecosystems.
There are countless sources of water pollutions that exist today due to our industrious and technologically advanced lifestyles. However, the most vexing is caused by the most basic necessity for survival, Agricultural Pollution. Agricultural Pollution is defined as, “ liquid and solid wastes from all types of farming activities, including run-off from pesticide and fertilizer use, and from feedlots; erosion and dust from ploughing; animal manure and carcasses; and crop residues and debris. In essence Agricultural Pollution is a nonpoint source water pollutant since it comes from various locations and cannot be pinpointed” (EPA-web). Although there are many practices already in place that will decrease the pollution, increase productivity, and save farmers money in the long run, the farmers are careful to change practices.
The fresh water is very important for all humans, animals, and all living organisms. After the air, water is the most essential component on the earth to sustain life. The main sources of water on the earth are rivers, lakes, underground water, springs, glaciers etc. The total amount of water required for drinking depends on the age of the humans, environmental conditions (eg. summer, winter), availability and the quality of water etc. All living things require water for the survival. Water is used for several activities like drinking, cooking, washing cloths and cleaning floors , gardening and industrial purposes. Water is not only used for the drinking purpose but it is also used for growing vegetation
There are many types of pollution. The main types of pollution are water, air, soil, thermal, radioactive, noise, and light. The topic for this experiment is Water Pollution. Water Pollution became a problem in the 1900’s when water started being treated like sewage. Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson on April 22, 1970 because of 1900’s pollution. Water Pollution also affects humans and animals. There was a Cholera outbreak in 1854, before water pollution became a problem, and a Typhoid outbreak in New York from 1900 to 1915. There are multiple possible causes to Water Pollution. Humans let out chemicals into the environment, and when some of those chemicals
Another way harvesting increases the water yield of a watershed is by increasing runoff. When an area is totally or partially harvested, temporary or permanent logging roads are usually constructed. These logging roads can capture subsurface flow and divert it to ditches associated with the road. These roads can divert surface flow that would ordinarily by dispersed and infiltrate (Satterlund and Adams, 1992). Because of the surface characteristics of roads, precipitation that falls on them has a reduced capacity to infiltrate. The effects of logging roads can be temporary or permanent. Temporary logging roads eventually revegetate, and may even be planted with herbaceous pla...
70% of this demand derives from agriculture which shows the influence of water on food supply globally as well as not just drinking water (Sawin “Water Scarcity could overwhelm the Next Generation”). But increasing water use is not just a matter of the greater number of people needing it to drink and eat; it also comes from pollution and misuse of water supplies, by either dumping or runoff of bacteria or chemicals into water. This also “causes other pollutions as well such as soil and air pollution, accelerating wetland damage and human-caused global warming” (Smith and Thomassey 25). According to a UN report, recent estimates suggest that climate change will account for about 20 percent of the increase in global water scarcity in coming decades. One of the main causes of water scarcity is water mismanagement worldwide.