A decade of state data shows most of Iowa’s impaired rivers and lakes haven’t improved, with lawmakers resisting stronger regulations on industrial agriculture.
Mónica Cordero reports for Investigate Midwest.
In short:
- Nearly 80% of Iowa’s impaired river segments and 43% of lake segments have remained polluted for at least ten years, mainly due to runoff from industrial farms.
- E. coli and nutrient pollution, especially from livestock operations, drive widespread contamination, harming recreational waters and ecosystems.
- Legislative attempts to require large animal operations to obtain pollution permits have repeatedly failed, as agribusiness influence blocks reform.
Key quote:
“The whole idea of putting waters on an impaired list is not that they should stay on the impaired list, like it’s some sort of punishment. The idea is to try to figure out ways to generate remedial actions and get them off of the impaired list.”
— Gregory LeFevre, associate professor of environmental engineering and science at the University of Iowa
Why this matters:
Iowa’s sprawling hog industry, the largest in the country, is leaving a growing environmental and public health footprint that’s hard to ignore — unless you’re in power. With over 10,000 animal feeding operations, the state’s rich farmland has become a nexus for industrial-scale manure and fertilizer runoff, which pours into nearby rivers, streams, and lakes. This runoff fuels a toxic chain reaction: Nitrogen and phosphorus overloads feed harmful algal blooms, E. coli outbreaks, fish kills, and frequent beach closures, disrupting ecosystems and putting people at risk.
Yet the regulatory response remains minimal. Iowa still has no enforceable water quality standards for nutrients like nitrogen or phosphorus in most waterways, and enforcement of existing pollution rules is weak. The result is a quiet but persistent crisis that disproportionately impacts rural Iowans, many of whom rely on rivers for drinking water, fishing, and recreation.
Related EHN coverage: Bringing the “farm” back to hog farming
