Safe Water IowaHow a century of tile drainage, fertilizer runoff, and a 60-year-old federal safety standard turned Iowa's rivers into one of the most nitrate-contaminated systems in the country — and what families can do at the tap.
Safe Water IowaIowa's 10 mg/L nitrate standard was set to prevent blue baby syndrome in infants. But new research links nitrates to cancer, birth defects, and thyroid disease at levels far below the legal limit.
Safe Water IowaIowa's drinking water hit dangerous nitrate levels in 2025, triggering the first-ever lawn watering ban for 600,000 central Iowans. Here's what's in your tap water and what you can do about it.