Des Moines, IA — EPA has added seven new impaired waterways to Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) 2024 303(d) Impaired Waters List, bringing the total to 712 impaired water segments. The agency found that Iowa’s major urban drinking water supplies, including segments of the Cedar River, Des Moines River, Iowa River, Raccoon River, and South Skunk River are acutely contaminated with levels of toxic nitrates that exceed federal safety thresholds.

Nitrate, linked to birth defects and cancers, is found in pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and factory farm waste. Iowa is the only state in the nation where cancer rates are rising — it ranks second overall in total cases.

Food & Water Watch Iowa Organizer Michaelyn Mankel issued the following statement:

“The latest data on Iowa’s water crisis must be a call to action. Big Ag is polluting our waterways with impunity — and we are paying for it with our health. As nitrate contamination rises, so too do our cancer rates. EPA must take emergency action to intervene in Iowa’s worsening nitrate contamination crisis. At home, our legislators must pass the Clean Water for Iowa Act to crack down on factory farm water pollution, and they must stop efforts to shield pesticide manufacturers from culpability for the health impacts of their products.”

13 organizations including Food & Water Watch are petitioning EPA to exercise emergency authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect Iowans from dangerous levels of nitrate contamination in drinking water. The petition is pending before the EPA; groups across the country wrote to the agency last month to request emergency action in the growing crisis.