When a team of scientists embarked two years ago on a $1m landmark study of Iowa\u2019s persistent water-quality problems, they knew that the findings would be important to share. High cancer rates amid the state\u2019s inability to stem the tide of pollutants flowing into rivers and lakes was a growing public concern.<\/p>\n
But now, after the completed study pointed to agricultural pollution as a significant source of the key US farm state\u2019s water problems, public officials have quietly stripped funding from plans to promote the study findings, according to sources involved in the project.<\/p>\n
The report<\/a>, the results of two years of data analysis, has been highly controversial<\/a> in Iowa because of the large amount of evidence it cites linking water pollution \u2013 and resulting human and environmental health risks \u2013 to the state\u2019s economically and politically powerful farm industry.<\/p>\n Supporters of the report said the agricultural industry and allied public officials have tried to downplay the findings for months, and they fear this move is another impediment to change.<\/p>\n \u2018Zeroed out\u2019<\/p>\n When the report was finalized earlier this year, there was a little more than $400,000 left in the budget, with some of that money earmarked for communications and \u201cpublic awareness\u201d work, travel and other costs associated with promoting the findings, records show<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n But those funds were recently \u201czeroed out\u201d with no explanation, according to email communications<\/a>.<\/p>\n Funding for the water report and related public outreach came from Polk county, Iowa\u2019s most populous county and home to the state capital city of Des Moines. County leadership has changed since the report was commissioned.<\/p>\n \u201cThe intent was that at the conclusion of the report to make sure it was seen widely in a public education effort,\u201d said former Polk county administrator John Norris, who led support for the water report in 2023. \u201cThat was a big part of the value of it \u2013 that the public learns from it.\u201d<\/p>\n Norris, who agreed to leave office earlier this year as part of a legal settlement<\/a> with the county, said he hoped the county would use some of the money in some way for water-quality work.<\/p>\n Frank Marasco, who replaced Norris, did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did Polk county spokesperson Jon Cahill. Terry also declined to comment.<\/p>\n The water report, authored by a team of 16 scientists, focuses on pollution patterns in two \u201cessential\u201d 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 considered important recreational state assets, but they\u2019re commonly laden with harmful contaminants that include phosphorus and nitrogen, bacteria from animal and human waste, pesticides and other chemicals.<\/p>\n This summer, nitrate levels in key drinking-water sources were measured in quantities far higher<\/a> than is allowed under federal safety standards.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> where cancer is increasing. Pesticides<\/a> and nitrates<\/a> both are scientifically shown to cause cancers.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe importance of accessible, transparent public education and awareness cannot be understated,\u201d Johannsen added. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Feds add to worries<\/p>\n The issues over how to address water-quality problems in Iowa, which has nearly 87,000 farms<\/a> and ranks first in the nation for corn, pork and egg production, comes as the Trump administration<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n If the measures become law, it will make it that much harder for Iowans to clean up their waterways.<\/p>\n In another blow to efforts to address the state\u2019s water-quality problems, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently reversed a decision<\/a> made under the Biden administration<\/a> that found additional areas of four Iowa rivers should be designated as impaired.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> the impairment designations, cheered the news.<\/p>\n