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 …show more content…
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.
Imagine a world where all of our fresh water was polluted to the point where we couldn’t drink it. That is exactly where we are heading if we do not fix this epidemic that is hitting, not only America, but Iowa in particular. It is apparent that Iowa’s water is posing health concerns such as polluting the water, creating dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico, and affecting the population’s drinking water.
...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.
We should be concerned about the leaching of nitrogen from soils for several reasons. One problem is that as nitrogen is leached from the soils, it collects in the ground water and in surface streams. This can cause eutrophication, an excess growth of plants and algae, in nearby streams and lakes (Weil, et al, 441). Also, concentrations of nitrate of 10 mg/L or more in drinking water can cause methemoglobinemia, or blue baby syndrome in infants (Hubbard, 802).
About 80% of the state's surveyed freshwater rivers and streams have good water quality that fully supports aquatic life uses, while 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 dissolved oxygen. Only 17% of the surveyed lakes in North Carolina are impaired for swimming, and 6% are impaired for aquatic life uses.
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
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.
Water contamination comes in various different forms. The most common in today’s world is chemical contamination. At the dawn of the industrial era, factories and sewage plants were the main culprits behind water contamination. In her article Water Quality, author Mary Cooper notes that “although the most egregious point-source pollution [factories and sewage treatment plants] has been reduced, a more insidious form of pollution continues to dirty the nation’s waterways – runoff from city streets, suburban construction sites and farms” (955). In farmland America today, the focus of contamination is mostly on runoff. Runoff...
... (The Issues: Factory Farming, n.d.). Nutrients and bacteria from that waste can also contaminate waterways, disturbing the aquatic ecosystems.
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.
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
Humans often take the water cycle for granted and assume that fresh water will always be available for drinking, cooking, farming, etc. Unfortunately, the ways in which society uses water is contributing to the reduction in fresh water available for human use. First of all, the use of hydroelectric power, though a clean source of energy, is negatively affecting the ecosystems in which the plant is stationed. The waterway must be dammed in order to maximize the potential energy of the water, but this often affects the function of the waterway upstream and downstream. For example, the build-up of water above the dam may create a lake where silt can build up while a lack of water below the dam eliminates habitats. Moreover, plants and aquatic animals that previously inhabited the waterway “may find themselves with too much or too little water, and migrating fish cannot get through the dams” (Humans and the water cycle). Not only does hydroelectricity disrupt the water cycle, but irrigation does as well. “Irrigation is the artificial watering of land that does not get enough water through rainfall” (Humans and the water cycle). Most countries that use irrigation have dry land or they require more water to grow more plants for their increasing population. The issue with irrigation is that it removes relatively clean water from its natural source and essentially pollutes it. The fertilizer in
The most prevalent source of agricultural water pollution is soil that is washed off of fields. These fields have been treated with fertilizers and pesticides, which over time have accumulated heavy metals that are then transferred to lakes and streams. The excess particles cloud the water blocking vital oxygen and sun for the aquatic plants.
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.