Rising nitrate levels in rural water supplies, linked to fertilizer use, are elevating health risks and treatment costs.
Nina Elkadi reports for Civil Eats.
In short:
- Jeff Broberg, a retired geologist, advocates for clean water in Minnesota after his own well showed dangerously high nitrate levels.
- Regional studies link nitrate exposure to severe health risks, prompting community actions across several states to demand better water protections.
- Rural areas face disproportionate economic burdens due to high costs of water purification, with smaller communities struggling with financial sustainability.
Key quote:
"Other people also have an American dream, and they want to be able to turn on their faucet and have clean water, or know that if they put their baby in a bath, they’re not going to end up in the hospital with major organs shutting down because they have been poisoned."
— Nancy Utesch, resident of Kewaunee County
Why this matters:
Farmers often rely heavily on nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers to boost crop yields. However, these chemicals don't always end up where they are intended. Rainfall and irrigation can wash these nutrients away from fields and into rivers, lakes, and groundwater systems.
This process, known as agricultural runoff, can lead to nutrient pollution, a major environmental threat that disrupts ecosystems and degrades water quality. There is a long-term risk of nitrate from fertilizers seeping into drinking water, which has been linked to serious conditions such as methemoglobinemia, or "blue baby syndrome," in infants.
