Impacts of Nitrogen Fertilizer Use on Escalating Water Treatment Costs
Bill StoweCEO and General Manager
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Iowa’s Industrial Agriculture Reality
20,455,666 hogs in Iowa83.5 pounds of manure per head/per day
Treatment Plant
Recharge Ponds
Drainage Tiling: Increasing Water Quantity while Reducing Water Quality
Iowa Drainage Districts
Hardin County, Iowa
Tragedy of the Commons: Free use of water resource
to move waste
Raccoon River January 2016 Nitrate Load - University of Iowa
IIHR - Hydroscience and Engineering
Nitrate (NO3) in Water
• EPA Safe Drinking Water Standard: 10 mg/L.• Nitrate levels above the standard are a public
health risk. Particularly at risk are infants below six months of age who, if left untreated, could become seriously ill or die.
• Nitrate treatment not addressed through traditional lime softening/filtration system. Side-stream treatment is required.
Number of Days Source Waters Above the 10 mg/L Nitrate Safe Drinking Water Standard
Costs to Water Treatment Facilities At Farm vs. Downstream
Des Moines Denitrification Costs2015 O&M Costs $1,500,000Estimated Cost for Denitrification Facilities Upgrades $80 million
Paid for by ratepayers
$1.50-$22.00 per pound on the farm $15.00-$47.00 per pound at municipal treatment plant
– NACWA
Iowa’s Wasted Resources• Billions of dollars in federal ag subsidies with
no greater use of conservation practices• No tie between federal subsidies and long-term
accountability
“Fooling Ourselves: Voluntary Programs Fail to Clean Up Dirty Water,” Environmental Working Group, February 2016
Solutions for Water Quality Improvement
1. Treat pollution at the source: in-field or edge-of-field solutions.
2. Transparent measuring and monitoring of protection of public health – NPDES compliance.
3. Agricultural accountability for environmental protection – Resources follow accountability, not vice versa.
Sac County, Iowa
No other business besides agriculture can run a pipe without regulation
into the waters of the state.
Why is agriculture different?
____ THINK DOWNSTREAM ____