In Iowa, water pollution is a health threat that also disrupts summer fun

MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) — Hannah Ray J Childs propelled her kayak into a rapid on Iowa’s Maquoketa River on a recent afternoon and dipped her paddle in the water to swing the front of her boat into the air.

She loves to spend her days performing whitewater kayaking acrobatics that dunk her body in the water and give her the “feeling of flying,” she said. The water is where she found community — she even first spotted her husband when he was flipping his kayak in violent water. He in turn taught her how.

But she has also gotten sick from the water and now wears nose and ear plugs to minimize risk. Many others question why she spends so much time on the water.

“People’s first response when I tell them that I like to kayak and be upside down in the river,” Childs said, “is, ‘Ew, that’s disgusting. Why would you do that?’”

Iowa is a particularly stark example of the Midwest’s broader struggle with water pollution. The state is among the top producers of corn, soybeans and hogs, and it boasts a dense network of streams and rivers. Fertilizer and manure on those farms contain nitrates and phosphorus that drain into those waters, making Iowa among the leading contributors to an aquatic dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Last summer its biggest city imposed water restrictions as it struggled to remove the harmful nitrates from tap water.

Water pollution has been a stubborn problem here for decades, affecting not only public health but also people’s ability to enjoy the water in the summer.

Algal blooms can create dangerous conditions at beaches, and soil runoff can make the water just feel gross. Bacteria, sometimes from human sewage, keeps teenagers out of streams. More than half the sections of rivers, streams and lakes the state tracked in 2024 did not meet state standards for swimming, drinking or aquatic life.

The state has relied on voluntary actions and incentives — not mandates — to reduce nitrate and phosphorus runoff, but it remains far short of its goal. Recently environmental groups sued the Trump administration, alleging that it improperly reversed a Biden-era requirement for Iowa to address nitrate pollution in sections of several rivers.

There has been investment and some improvement. In May, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds promoted a $320 million package for water infrastructure and other projects, adding to the nearly $100 million annually that the state allocates to the problem. Phosphorus has diminished some. Better practices such as cover crops, reduced or no tillage to protect the soil and on-farm installations to reduce runoff have substantially increased in recent years.

Though landlocked, Iowa’s identity is shaped by waterways including the Missouri and Mississippi rivers that form some of its borders. There are beautiful lake-side beaches and excellent trout fishing. Waters are among its few natural spaces.

Childs learned to love the Maquoketa River growing up on a nearby corn and hog farm. She remembers paddling to find fishing holes with her brothers and exploring streams with friends.

She now volunteers to test the river for chemicals and championed a whitewater park in Manchester, her northeast Iowa hometown, to help others enjoy the water.

“If we don’t get people invested in their local river, their local community, how are we ever going to ask them to take care of it?” she said.

Feelings of loss

Mary Swander, a 75-year-old theater director and former state poet laureate, fondly remembers learning to canoe and swim outdoors while growing up near the water. Summer was for splashing around. Winter, ice skating.

“I had a little group of friends and we played hooky once, and we all got our swimsuits and drove over to Lake MacBride and spent the whole day in the lake, in the water, swimming, and we had a whole picnic,” she said.

Swander now avoids the water after bad experiences. One time the water at a state park felt wrong — sticky. Another time a ranger warned her canoeing group not to get their hands — or anything else — in the water.

“I was like, ‘Well, what the hell are we doing out here, then?’” she said.

Swander was able to replace swimming with other activities and keep some friendships, but others faded. The loss of places outside the home and office where people can connect may make sustaining social interactions harder, especially for older adults, said Philippa Clarke, a University of Michigan professor who has researched social spaces.

Bacteria plays the biggest role in making streams inaccessible. It comes from cows, deer and other animals, although in some places human sewage is the biggest problem. Experts say heavy rains are a major risk when they wash away manure — something that climate change will intensify — and improving sewage treatment and leaky septic systems is vital.

Nitrates and phosphorus from manure and fertilizer on farms are also at the heart of the problem. Millions of acres of farmland use plastic pipes under fields — a system called tile drainage — to quickly direct water into streams. The nutrients feed algae, leading to lake advisories and threatening drinking water.

Struggles at Lake Darling

The challenge of keeping water bodies clean is exemplified by Lake Darling, a roughly 300-acre (120-hectare) human-made lake that offers camping, trails and a beach for swimmers in Iowa’s southeast. But last year the lake had the worst overall health of any state beach with 10 weeks of E. Coli advisories and six with algal warnings, According to the Iowa Environmental Council, which tracks such advisories.

Years ago the lake was closed, drained and renovated — its earlier brown water became inviting and clearer. Nearby landowners altered their properties to catch runoff, and critical land was purchased for conservation, according to Bob Shepherd who is part of a proud park volunteer group.

Recently, however, it has struggled, said Claire Hruby, an environmental science professor at Drake University who studied pollution at the lake. Hruby said there are several new hog operations in the lake’s watershed, and nutrient runoff from manure triggers algae issues.

When the water is particularly bad, “It’s like swimming in green paint,” she said.

Concerns about water quality keep people away even on days that are not that bad, according to Lawrence Eyre, a tennis camp director and teacher at a nearby school. As recently as several years ago, kids would finish playing tennis on courts baking in the summer sun and, minutes later, be rewarded with a swim in another nearby lake.

But parents noticed that some kids were getting itchy skin, and algae appeared at the water’s edge. Word spread, and many wanted their children not to take the risk. Now they tend not to bother, Eyre said.

“It does put a dent in the enjoyment of the summer,” he said.

Iowa is symbolic of Midwest struggles with water pollution

Environmentalists see a state that can’t say no to agriculture.

In 2015, Des Moines’ water utility sued three counties over the money it had to spend filtering out nitrates. A judge eventually dismissed the complaint, saying any push to permit and reduce runoff from nearby agriculture was an issue for the Iowa legislature.

While Minnesota has mandated vegetation near streams to reduce runoff, Iowa has taken a different approach. It relies on its agriculture and natural resources departments, along with Iowa State University, to develop voluntary strategies that include less fertilizer use, improved crop management and adding wetlands to reduce runoff.

The EPA helps states implement their strategies to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus. The agency said it’s important to see agriculture as part of the solution and to understand that improvement takes time.

Many farmers are also under pressure. Supply costs have risen sharply in recent years as have fertilizer prices following the war in Iran, according to Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union, which represents family farms and pushes for sustainable practices.

“There’s a lot less control that farmers have,” Lehman said.

Plus it can take years for farmers to see a return on their investment — if they ever do — when they improve their practices. Demand for federal and state help to do so outstrips supply, according to Rachel Curry, an agriculture educator at the University of Illinois Extension. Changing farming practice is like turning a cruise ship — it takes time, but with the right help, they can get there.

Cooperation between the state and farmers is essential, and mandates would destroy that trust, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said in an interview with the Iowa Farm Bureau.

Others see hope in local successes.

David Thoreson has sailed above the arctic circle and around continents — a life of adventure made possible because his mother taught him to sail on the Iowa Great Lakes in the state’s northwest. He said local efforts to restore wetlands, purchase land for conservation and improve sewage treatment have kept the lakes healthy for tourists and locals.

“They understand the importance of it, and that’s what drives our economy and property values and multi-generational interest in this place that just keeps bringing people back,” Thoreson said.

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Associated Press writer M.K. Wildeman in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed.

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