Des Moines, IA — The vast majority of Iowa beach advisories since Memorial Day (85%) are in counties with the highest factory farm livestock density, finds a new analysis of the latest Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) data released today by the national environmental group Food & Water Watch. This news comes amidst growing calls for regulation as Iowa reels from worsening water and cancer crises, linked to industrial agriculture pollution.

The analysis found that, since Memorial Day:

• Of the 41 beaches tested, 56% have had at least one water quality advisory.
• The vast majority of beach advisories — 85% — are in counties with extreme factory farmed livestock density. 
• Of the 105 beach advisories since the start of summer, the vast majority — 89% — are due solely to waters exceeding E. coli standards. E. coli presence in water indicates fecal contamination, including from nearby livestock facilities.
• Remaining beach advisories were due solely to algal toxins or due to a combination of E. coli and algal toxins. Toxic algal blooms are largely caused by agricultural runoff, including nitrogen and phosphorus from both synthetic fertilizers and factory farm manure.

Iowa has over 67 million animals living on factory farms, producing 109 billion pounds of waste annually — more than any other state, and more than 25 times as much as the state’s human population. Barely any of that waste is regulated. More than 4,000 factory farms currently operate in the state without any water pollution oversight.

Food & Water Watch Research Director Amanda Starbuck issued the following statement:

“Recreation at Iowa’s beaches may be limited but the state is swimming in factory farm waste. 109 billion pounds of livestock manure, tainted with harmful toxins from E. coli to nitrates, are infiltrating Iowa waterways every year, with hardly any oversight. From cancelled lake trips to restricted fishing and water recreation, and serious drinking water impacts, Iowans are paying the price. The time for mandatory regulations to reign in factory farm pollution is now.” 

Food & Water Watch maintains comprehensive interactive maps of factory farm density in America. The resource, based on the USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture, reveals the extreme concentration of factory farms — and their waste — in communities across the country, endangering clean water and public health.