DES MOINES, Iowa — A highly anticipated two-year water quality study by Polk County was released Tuesday, confirming that the nitrate in the river water is mostly due to agriculture.
The Central Iowa Source Water Research Assessment was commissioned in 2023 to offer unbiased and comprehensive examination of the watersheds for the Des Moines River and Raccoon River. It revealed that nearly 80% of the nitrate in those rivers is directly tied to agriculture.
The report says that “the rivers often contain some of the highest nitrate levels in the U.S. and routinely exceed the health-based drinking water standard, threatening human health and increasing the cost and complexity of water treatment.”…