Central Iowa Water Works customers in the Des Moines area on water restrictions due to high nitrate levels in the Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers; Regional Water in Southwest Iowa put its customers on a boil order when its wells were low due to drought and a nitrogen spill into the East Nishnabotna last year put Red Oak neighbors on edge. As result, some Larry and Denise O’Brien, retired dairy farmers from Atlantic who still maintain an organic farm, decided to help start Nishnabotna Water Defenders.
WATCH KATRINA’S STORY BELOW
IOWA WATER SAFETY: Atlantic couple teaches neighbors to test waterways
- The O’Briens will be training neighbors this week to test local waterways for nitrogen and phosphorus levels.
- Denise: “We want to be able to train people to go to different parts of the county and take samples on a regular basis so we can monitor what’s going on.”
- SEE MORE |Nitrate Watch with the Izaak Walton League.
- PREVIOUS REPORTING |One year after fertilizer spill, Red Oak neighbors take action to protect water
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:Drought, nitrate levels, cancer rates: Iowans are increasingly concerned about water.
I’m your Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel outside Atlantic, Iowa. I’m here on the O’Brien farm, and the O’Briens have been organic farmers for decades, but now they’re part of a group helping to start Nishnabotna Water Defenders…