Science and Environmental Groups Ask EPA and HHS to Take Emergency Action as Nitrate Pollution in Water Reaches Crisis Levels

"Nitrate in drinking water is a serious public health problem linked to cancer and other health impacts, and we know agricultural practices like excessive fertilizer use and poor manure management are largely responsible," said Dr. Stacy Woods, a co-author of the letter and the research director for the Food and Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). "The federal government must act now to curb nitrate pollution and safeguard our communities, because no one should face health risks from preventable pollution in their tap water."

Rural communities are especially affected by nitrate pollution because intensive agricultural practices are the primary sources of elevated nitrate levels in groundwater, according to the letter. However, the crisis is not geographically limited to rural areas, as farm runoff makes its way to downstream communities and large urban areas. One in 5 Americans drink water with elevated levels of nitrates, according to a recent report.

The science on nitrate contamination in drinking water is clear. The letter explains how nitrate exposure is harmful at far lower levels than the current federal safety threshold-meaning even people drinking from regulated water systems can be exposed to dangerous levels of the chemical. Drinking nitrate-contaminated water is linked to a host of negative health outcomes, the letter points out, including increased risk of colorectal, ovarian, bladder and other cancers, premature childbirth and central nervous system birth conditions in children such as spina bifida.

The letter requests that the EPA and HHS exercise public health emergency authorities "to identify and eliminate sources of nitrate pollution affecting drinking water and provide funds to communities to reduce nitrate levels in finished drinking water."

Evidence shows Iowa is at the forefront of the crisis, with both public water systems and tens of thousands of private wells posing substantial dangers to state residents due to highly elevated nitrate levels. To date, the EPA has not responded to a 2024 petition calling for emergency action in Iowa under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The letter calls on the EPA to act on the pending petition, prohibit the expansion of intensive agricultural practices in contaminated areas, and investigate state regulatory failures.

A recent UCS report found that as much as half of the nitrogen fertilizer used by domestic corn and soybean farmers is unnecessary as crops cannot absorb that excess. In addition to the human health impacts of nitrate runoff, this fertilizer overapplication costs farmers billions of dollars, kills fish and disrupts economically important fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, and produces heat-trapping emissions equivalent to up to 14 million gas-powered cars each year.