(West Lake Okoboji -- KIWA Staff Photo)Arnolds Park, Iowa (KUOO) — Nutrients in Iowa’s waterways and their potential connection to the state’s high cancer rates were a key topic at a seminar during the Boji Cleanwater Jam in the Iowa Great Lakes this past weekend.
Dr. Larry Weber, a hydrologist and Director of the Iowa Flood Center at the University of Iowa, provided an update on the Iowa Nutrient Resource Center, which currently has about 80 nitrate-monitoring sensors deployed statewide. He says one sensor in northeast Iowa recently maxed out and had to be replaced.
Weber says the monitoring program has increasingly relied on private funding due to state cuts, and he warned that Iowa is nearing a critical point when looking at long-term nutrient trends in its waterways.
Weber says researchers are launching a new project to examine environmental factors that may contribute to Iowa’s cancer rates. The effort is being funded largely through private donations and will focus on bio-monitoring, water quality, air quality and other environmental exposures. He says the work will be intensive, including testing outdoor surfaces — such as playground equipment — for potential chemical contamination.
Weber adds they are also establishing national nitrate-forecasting programs that could help water treatment facilities better anticipate changes in water quality.
