Several Great Lakes and Mississippi River conservation groups are urging the federal government to take action against nitrate contamination in drinking water, which they say has reached “crisis levels” and is a public health emergency.
Nitrate, which forms when nitrogen-rich sources like fertilizer combine with oxygen, has long been found in Wisconsin’s surface waters and groundwater, where it can end up in people’s drinking water. Consuming water with elevated levels of nitrate is linked to birth defects, thyroid problems and some cancers.
Agricultural fertilizer and manure are the most common sources of nitrogen to groundwater, with septic systems and lawn fertilizers also contributing. About 7% of Wisconsin’s private wells fail to meet the safe drinking water standard for nitrate – and in heavily agricultural areas of the state, that percentage can exceed 20%.
Advocates say nitrate contamination has struggled to capture public attention but is costly and hazardous to those it affects.
The May 5 letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was signed by 83 groups, including Milwaukee Riverkeeper, the Alliance for the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Collaborative. It calls on the agencies to “immediately identify and eliminate sources of nitrate pollution in drinking water and provide funds to communities to reduce nitrate to safe levels.”
The letter cites a recent report from the Iowa Environmental Council and the Harkin Institute at Drake University in Des Moines that found high nitrate levels in drinking water, as well as the presence of pesticides and forever chemicals, are linked to rising cancer rates in Iowa. Intensive farming across the state, including corn, soy and hogs, is the dominant source of nitrate pollution, the report notes.
“We understand these are long-term problems,” said Tyler Lobdell, senior attorney at Food & Water Watch, which spearheaded the letter. “The longer we wait to address root causes, the more difficult, and more expensive (it is), and the more harm is caused in the long run.”
Nitrate affects health, wildlife, economies
Nitrate contamination is a widespread problem across the country, especially in the Corn Belt, but actions to address it have been slow-going.
Multiple states, including Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, have previously petitioned the EPA to take emergency action on nitrate problems in specific regions. Lobdell said the agency has either ignored or given an insufficient response to those petitions, dating back several years and multiple presidential administrations.
Under former President Joe Biden, the EPA restarted an assessment – which had been suspended during the first Trump administration – of the impacts of nitrate on human health. Environmental advocates had hoped that it could lead to an adjustment of the national standard for nitrate in drinking water, which currently sits at 10 mg/L, because some research shows impacts to human health below that level. Little progress has been made on the assessment.
In Wisconsin, water quality experts say the state is losing ground on nitrate contamination even as efforts are made to help farmers better manage manure and nitrogen fertilizer.
Owners of private wells that exceed the nitrate standard spend money on expensive treatment systems. Small municipal systems have had to do the same. And nitrate is increasing at most of the sites where the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources monitors surface water quality.
Beyond human health impacts, too much nitrogen in surface water can drive excessive algae growth, causing harm to fish and other aquatic life. It’s one culprit, in addition to phosphorus, in the creation of the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico – renamed by the U.S. government as Gulf of America – which spans thousands of square miles.
Kelly McGinnis, executive director of the environmental advocacy organization One Mississippi, a signatory on the letter, said humans aren’t separate from the environment and that addressing nitrate contamination would have positive impacts on both.
She said she hopes the letter catches the attention of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pledged to “Make America Healthy Again” and has shown interest in reducing toxins in people’s diets.
“We felt the urgency right now to take advantage of the new research (from Iowa) to say, ‘Hey, this is something you guys need to be addressing,'” McGinnis said.
A spokesperson for the EPA said the agency is “committed to Making America Healthy Again by taking real, tangible steps to evaluate risks of nitrates in drinking water while following the law and gold standard science,” and that it is beginning the next round of review of national drinking water regulations, which was last published in 2024.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment.
Madeline Heim covers public health and environmental issues for the Journal Sentinel. Contact: mheim@usatodayco.com.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mississippi River, Great Lakes groups tell feds to act on nitrate
Reporting by Madeline Heim, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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