As Iowans wrestle with polluted waters, politics get in the way

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When a team of scientists embarked two years ago on a $1 million landmark study of Iowa’s persistent water quality problems, they knew that the findings would be important to share. The state’s stunningly high cancer rates amid its inability to stem the tide of pollutants flowing into rivers and lakes was a growing public concern.

But now, after the completed study pointed to agricultural pollution as a significant source of the key US farm state’s water problems, public officials have quietly stripped funding away from plans to promote the study findings, according to sources involved in the project.

The report, the results of two years of data analysis, has been highly controversial in Iowa because of the large amount of evidence it cites linking water pollution – and resulting human and environmental health risks – to the state’s economically and politically powerful farm industry.

Supporters of the report said the agricultural industry and allied public officials have tried to downplay the findings, and they fear this move is another impediment to change.

“Zeroed out”

When the report was finalized earlier this year, there was a little more than $400,000 left in the $1 million budget, with some of that money earmarked for communications and “public awareness” work, travel and other costs associated with promoting the findings of the report, records show.

Jennifer Terry, the project lead on the water report, had planned in-person meetings with scientists and community groups to focus on recommendations made in the report.

But those funds were recently “zeroed out” with no explanation, according to email communications.

Funding for the water report and related public outreach came from Polk County, Iowa’s most populous county and home to the state capital city of Des Moines. But the report was commissioned two years ago under different leadership.

“The intent was that at the conclusion of the report to make sure it was seen widely in a public education effort,” said former Polk County Administrator John Norris, who led support for the project in 2023. “That was a big part of the value of it – that the public learns from it.”

Norris, who agreed to leave office earlier this year as part of a legal settlement with the county, said he hoped the county would use some of the money in some way for water quality work.

Polk County Administrator Frank Marasco, who replaced Norris, did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did Polk County spokesman Jon Cahill. Terry also declined to comment.

The water report, authored by a team of 16 scientists, focuses on pollution patterns in two rivers fed from a watershed running from southern Minnesota through the central part of Iowa to Des Moines. The rivers are the primary source of drinking water for roughly 600,000 people and are considered important recreational state assets, but the rivers are commonly laden with harmful contaminants that include phosphorus and nitrogen, bacteria from animal and human waste, pesticides and other chemicals.

This summer, nitrate levels in the key drinking water sources were measured in quantities far higher than is allowed under federal safety standards. 

Much, though not all, of the contamination is tied to agriculture, according to the report. Among multiple recommendations, the report calls for the top US corn-growing state to diversify into production of crops that require fewer chemical inputs, and for limits on the density of livestock.

The water report comes alongside growing concerns about the prevalence of cancer across the state. For the last few years, Iowa has had the second-highest rate of cancer in the nation, and is one of only two US states where cancer is increasing. Pesticides and nitrates both are scientifically shown to cause cancers.

Kerri Johannsen, senior director of policy and programs at the Iowa Environmental Council, said all allocated funds should be fully utilized to educate the public.

“People in Polk County and across the state are facing a water crisis but we cannot begin to make progress until all Iowans, including decision-makers, understand the urgency of this moment,” she said.

“The importance of accessible, transparent public education and awareness cannot be understated,” Johannsen added. “The current resources available for addressing our water issues are a drop in the bucket, and our elected officials have a responsibility to do everything they can to find a way forward for the sake of the health of the people of this state.”

Feds add to worries

The issues over how to address water quality problems in Iowa, which has nearly 87,000 farms and ranks first in the nation for corn, pork and egg production, comes as the Trump administration and Republican allies in Congress are moving to dismantle regulations aimed at protecting water quality, including those that work to limit discharges of pesticides and other farm-related chemicals into waterways.

One chief concern for environmental advocates is the PERMIT Act, which is actually a package of more than a dozen bills that would streamline permitting requirements. The legislation would cut protections for many waterways, limit requirements for updated pollution control measures and exempt pesticide spraying and agricultural runoff from permitting and accountability, according to the advocacy group Beyond Pesticides.

If the measures become law, it will make it that much harder for Iowans to clean up their waterways.

In another blow to efforts to address the state’s water quality problems, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently reversed a decision made under the Biden administration that found additional areas of four Iowa rivers should be designated as impaired.

When waters are classified as impaired, it triggers stricter regulatory measures to limit pollutants entering the waterways and other enhanced measures aimed at reducing the inflow of harmful contaminants.

The reversal angered environmental groups across the state as well as the utility providers tasked with cleaning up the water. But farm groups, including the Iowa Farm Bureau, which had opposed the impairment designations, cheered the news.

News of the reversal broke the same week that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin visited Iowa to meet with farmers and others and attend the Iowa State Fair to serve as a “grill master” at the Iowa Pork Producers Association tent.

When asked what drove the decision to reverse the impairment decision, an EPA spokesperson said only that the agency has been tracking the levels of nitrates this spring and summer in the waterways and is “ensuring that all of the information and data collected by the cities, universities, and other groups is provided to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for evaluation.”

The agency is “not currently aware” of any “exceedances” of nitrates at public water systems “using surface waterbodies in Iowa,” the spokesperson said. The agency is working with state officials to “understand and resolve the issues forming the basis for EPA’s reconsideration of its 2024 decision.”

Adam Shriver, director of wellness and nutrition policy at the Harkin Institute at Drake University, said the recent events are disheartening.

“I think it shows just how far we still have left to go,” Shriver said. “The Farm Bureau opposed the initial impairment designation and was taking a victory lap with the recent EPA announcement. As long as they continue to get whatever they want from every level of government while other stakeholders are ignored, public health is going to suffer.”