Wisconsin faces a growing public health crisis from nitrate contamination in drinking water, according to a new report released today. Thousands of households are paying the price with higher water costs and serious health risks linked to nitrate contamination from fertilizer and manure pollution. Nitrate exposure is linked to serious health effects, including cancer, pregnancy complications, and infant methemoglobinemia otherwise known as blue baby syndrome.
The report – Nitrates on Tap: The Cost of Nitrate Contamination in Wisconsin’s Drinking Water – was published to inform concerned Wisconsinites, serve as a blueprint for how other states can analyze and address the issue, and highlight the need for more protective nitrate standards. It was authored in partnership between the Alliance for the Great Lakes and Clean Wisconsin.
Nitrates on Tap also includes several powerful first-person testimonials from Wisconsin residents directly impacted by nitrates.
The report estimates that, statewide, 16 million pounds of fertilizer beyond what crops need to grow was likely applied to farm fields in 2022. Current state policies and voluntary programs have failed to curb this problem. Instead, those costs are being shifted to individuals and ratepayers while putting communities that depend on public and private drinking water systems at risk. For both municipalities and private well owners, nitrate contamination from agriculture drives up costs by increasing reliance on water treatment infrastructure, bottled water, and well replacement.
“Wisconsin communities are living with the health impacts and costs of nitrate contamination – costs that are largely borne by ratepayers and homeowners,” said Angela Blatt, Senior Agriculture Policy Manager for the Alliance for the Great Lakes and one of the report’s authors.
“We can’t just continue to dig our way out of the problem with groundwater wells. This report is a call to action for comprehensive changes in policy and practices that are necessary in Wisconsin – as well as other areas throughout the Great Lakes Basin – to protect our drinking water and stop the pollution at its source,” Blatt said.
“Nitrates are Wisconsin’s most widespread drinking water contaminant, with health risks even at low levels. The costs of treating our drinking water will only continue to rise, so we need to tackle this challenge at its source,” said Sara Walling, Water & Agriculture Program Director for Clean Wisconsin and one of the report’s contributors.
“Agriculture needs to have a seat at the table if we are going to identify and implement workable, effective and widespread solutions to protect families, safeguard water, and sustain our state’s farming future. This report is a call to start those conversations in earnest,” Walling said.
The report lays out key facts about nitrate pollution and its impact on human health and the environment. Nitrates on Tap is also a sober assessment of the high costs of inaction and offers detailed recommendations for a coordinated, science-based policy response that state legislators and agencies can take, building upon previous efforts to combat nitrate pollution.
Recommendations include expanding a program that reimburses costs for private wells, monitoring groundwater as well as costs borne by public water systems, increasing polluter enforcement, updating state water and agriculture standards, and more. Without action, more Wisconsin families will face unsafe drinking water and mounting bills. This report shows how we can protect our water from nitrates, if policymakers act now.
Wisconsin had been taking steps to address nitrogen pollution, but the state legislature took away some rule-making authorities from regulating agencies. A recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision, however, does open the door for stronger action and agencies should seize the opportunity.
Read the fact sheet here: www.cleanwisconsin.org/nitrate-fact-sheet
Read the full report here: www.cleanwisconsin.org/nitrate-report
