Has water quality in Iowa gone up the river?

It’s no secret that the state of Iowa doesn’t exactly have the best quality when it comes to its water supply, often facing numerous instances of contamination through high fertilizer use and waste adding excessive amounts of bacteria into waterways, alongside aging infrastructure, adding more to the pollution in certain areas. 

Iowa is currently one of the lowest ranked states for water and air quality at around 30 to 37, and according to the Iowa Environmental Council it’s one of the highest states linked to an increased rate of cancer due to nitrate contamination found among water supplies.  

This has had many of us, including myself, worried about our health around tap consumption and use, and it may seem like there’s not much to do to face this issue. In fact there’s a lot you can actually do. 

I encourage aiding support for organizations like the statewide Nutrient Reduction Strategy, or NRS, in which they target over a 45% reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus runoffs. Supporting organizations like this is one of the biggest ways to make your voice heard and to make an actual impact on our water quality statewide.  

Besides just advocating for clean, safe water, there’s a lot you could do currently to ensure you’re consuming the right quality water. One of the first things I would mention is to try and not drink straight from the tap but rather go through different options if straight tap has been your main source for water. 

 For starters, you could always just get bottled water from the store. While not too environmentally friendly and sometimes costly overtime, it’s significantly safer to drink. There’s also the option for a water filter, which is what I personally use on top of a reusable water bottle. 

You can get filters through many different varieties, like either directly attached to your faucet or from a separate container. This would help a lot with making the tap a bit, safer to drink if that’s your only source.  

I think it’s incredibly important to keep these health risks in mind regarding water quality. It’s important that we advocate for change, not just for the quality of our water but also our air and nature to make Iowa a safer and cleaner state.