It’s time  to start talking about clean water. Here are some new findings by the Iowa Environmental Council published earlier this week.

“The Iowa Environmental Council published a new report Nitrate in Drinking Water: A Public Health Concern for All Iowans, outlining the risks of nitrate in drinking water to Iowans of all ages. Research provides compelling evidence that long-term exposure to nitrate at levels well below the current drinking water standard of 10 mg/L can lead to higher risk of adverse health outcomes. Recent rains after a long period of drought have led to a huge influx of nitrate in Iowa’s waterways. Iowans should be informed of the risks.”

“In a recent analysis of private well testing data in Iowa, we found that the vast majority of private wells in Iowa are not tested regularly for nitrate, despite high levels of contamination in the wells that were tested,” said Anne Schechinger, Midwest Director for the Environmental Working Group and a reviewer of the new report. “Rural Iowans on private wells may be at greater risk of drinking water with elevated levels of nitrate.”

“In addition to providing summaries of the scientific findings, IEC’s report outlines recommendations for policy solutions to reduce the risk of nitrate health impacts for Iowans. As elected officials and government agencies consider how to protect public health, they must consider regulatory solutions.

“We cannot wait for voluntary approaches to reduce nitrate pollution to protect public health 30, 50, or 100 years from now,” said Vasto. “We’re seeing the impacts to public health now. We need solutions now.”

Read the executive summary and full report.