New USGS research shows nutrient pollution increased in many streams and rivers across the country between 2000 and 2020. The main source was the release of old nitrogen and phosphorus stored in soil and groundwater.

Recent heavy rains are unlikely to drive up nitrate levels in the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers, the source of drinking water for 600,000 central Iowa residents — but that depends on how much rain northwest Iowa receives, experts say.

Water utilities currently rely on readings taken that day to know how and when to treat for nitrates, a pollutant regulated by the EPA. The partnership will work on forecasting when nitrates could occur.

Grinnell College student Caden Branum is gaining experience and hands-on skills as a summer employee at IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering

Iowans concerned about contaminants in the environment have a new source for accurate, science-based information — the Iowa Integrated Network for Science, Information, and Geospatial Health Tracking (Iowa INSIGHT). Launched on July 1, Iowa INSIGHT is off to a running start.

Iowa farmers and residents can better prepare for severe weather because of a $500,000 federal grant that will enable the University of Iowa’s Iowa Flood Center to install water and soil monitoring systems in 18 counties, said U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has backed off its reassessment of cancer-causing nitrates despite decades of research suggesting the contaminant is more harmful than previously thought and that nitrate pollution is at crisis levels in U.S. drinking water.

Amidst three years of record-setting levels of nitrates in Iowa’s water, the University of Iowa and several cities throughout the state are working on a new artificial intelligence model to predict nitrate levels. This NASA-funded project began in June and will develop a model for public use over a three-year period. The university and municipal partners, including Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, and Iowa City, are currently training the AI with years of water records and satellite data.

A new IIHR research initiative aims to develop a forecasting and early-warning system for nitrate in Iowa rivers and streams.

A NASA-funded project at the University of Iowa’s IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering is developing artificial intelligence to forecast nitrate levels in untreated drinking water, using years of water records and satellite data.