Iowa Water Quality and Disease

Iowa's Waterways Contaminated by Nitrates

In the last couple decades nitrates and other related chemicals have contaminated local waterways and wells. Unsafe levels of nitrates have been found in thousands of wells across the state of Iowa. This contamination can be attributed to farming practices that involve different fertilizers and animal manure.

These contaminants have been linked to many different diseases and defects in newborns. These diseases include colon, kidney, and ovarian cancer. With outdated legal limits of 10 mg/l of nitrates the water ways continue to be contaminated. Recent studies have found that levels closer to 5 mg/l can cause these different cancers as well.

Check out our map that includes nitrate levels and disease count (per 100,000) in each county. Also, use the graph tool to explore the relationship between the nitrate levels and a given disease.

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