UCS Experts Available to Discuss Study Detailing Nationwide Nitrate Contamination of Public Water Systems

The EWG study found that between 2021 and 2023, nearly one in five people in the United States-over 60 million people-relied on public water systems with elevated nitrate levels. Nitrate contamination in drinking water, largely due to pollution from over-fertilized crops and leaky manure storage at crowded livestock operations, is associated with cancer and other health risks, including for infants, children, and seniors.

"The evidence linking fertilizer overuse to serious health and environmental harms continues to grow," said Dr. Stacy Woods, research director for the Food and Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). "This EWG analysis makes clear that nitrate pollution isn't confined to a few hotspots. Public drinking water systems across the country are being impacted, putting our health at risk. The federal government has an obligation to act now to reduce nitrate in drinking water nationwide."

Industrial agriculture is a significant source of nitrate pollution that contaminates water and soil through livestock manure and waste and the overapplication of nitrogen fertilizer. A UCS report released earlier this year found that domestic corn and soybean producers alone overapply fertilizer by millions of metric tons per year. This overapplication has billions of dollars in direct costs for farmers, and the excess fertilizer runs off farm fields and harms human health, ecosystems and the climate.

"The cost of fertilizer overuse doesn't stop at the field," said Dr. Woods. "It shows up in higher water treatment costs for communities and in real health risks for people exposed to nitrate in their drinking water.

"The good news is there are clear, proven solutions that can help reduce fertilizer runoff from agriculture. For example, the federal government should be investing far more in programs that help farmers cut excess fertilizer use instead of allowing nitrate pollution to continue contaminating the drinking water of tens of millions of people."

Federal conservation programs, including those at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), can incentivize farming practices that better protect water quality and provide significant public health benefits for communities across the country. More sustainable and healthy practices include planting native plants, using cover crops, preserving wetlands to limit runoff, and certain crop rotation and diversification strategies.

UCS experts are closely monitoring developments on the rising costs of fertilizer, from health harms and drinking water treatment expenses linked to nitrate pollution to rising fertilizer prices for farmers driven by tariffs and the war on Iran.