Farms, More Productive Than Ever, Are Poisoning Drinking Water in Rural America

[mahatmakanejeeves]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by DonViejo (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: The Wall Street Journal.

Farms, More Productive Than Ever, Are Poisoning Drinking Water in Rural America

One in seven Americans drink from private wells, which are being polluted by contaminants from manure and fertilizer

By Jesse Newman and Patrick McGroarty
Jan. 18, 2019 10:40 a.m. ET
....

U.S. farms, more productive than ever, are poisoning drinking water for rural Americans.

One in seven Americans drink from private wells, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Nitrate concentrations rose significantly in 21% of regions where USGS researchers tested groundwater from 2002 through 2012, compared with the 13 prior years. The greatest increases were in agricultural areas. More recent sampling shows the pattern is continuing, at a potentially greater rate.

Meanwhile, more than 16% of groundwater from wells sampled between 2002 and 2012 topped the federal nitrate limit of 10 parts per million, versus 12% in the 1990s. The percentage above the limit fell slightly in the wells sampled after 2013 but remained elevated.

"The worst-kept secret is how vulnerable private wells are to agricultural runoff," says David Cwiertny, director of the University of Iowa's Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination.
....

Write to Jesse Newman at [e-mail] and Patrick McGroarty at [e-mail]

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/farms-more-productive-than-ever-are-poisoning-drinking-water-in-rural-america-11547826031|

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If this is deemed analysis, I'll move it to the Environment & Energy forum.

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"The worst-kept secret." Rural Americans are grappling with polluted well water, the by-product of intensive farming.

Link to tweet

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https://twitter.com/jessenewman13
[e-mail]

https://twitter.com/patmcgroarty
[e-mail]

[bigtree]

1. anyone who has tried to protect or renew a waterway, lake, or pond knows this well

...the runoff from lawn fertilizing is a major pollutant, as well.

[riversedge]

2. WI has had contanminated rural wells for a long time from dairy mega farms. Gov Walker and his

all Republican legislature have basically ignored them over the last decade. He made our Wi DNA a commercial enterprise and got rid of most of the career scientists and replaced the DNR with younger appointees. Lots of damage--I see it happening in the Trump administration last 2 years. and his cabinet is doing harm with each passing day.

[Wellstone ruled]

5. You are on the right track.

What you are seeing today is the result of allowing Cattle and Hogs having access to ponds and lakes during the Forties and Fifties. These Ponds and Lakes are the Recharge Source of the Ground Water and the Percolating of the Soil effect kicked in in the Seventies and depending on the Soil make up ,the speed of contamination is determined.

[logosoco]

3. republican "thinking" minds...

(and I use the term "thinking" loosely here) do not see any problem with this. Profits are more important than people or the planet in their mind.

[Initech]

4. Is there anything they don't ruin?

Some things are more important than money, like I don't know, not being poisoned!

[akraven]

6. We're rural (no running water, cabin) but we get ours from a spring.

It's tested weekly. There's been one instance of pollution, by some freaking idiot who tossed his trash near the spring head.

The. Best. Water. Ever! Honestly, the coffee, tea, veggies, all come out tasting like they're supposed to!

Guess who we contribute to?

https://www.webcenter11.com/tvtv/content/news/Fox-Spring-will-remain-open-to-the-public-416481013.html

[DonViejo]

7. Locking...

Sorry, Forum Hosts agree, this is analysis feature piece.