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NOW. CENTRAL IOWA WATER WORKS SAYS NITRATE LEVELS IN OUR LOCAL RIVERS ARE GOING DOWN. FOR THE MOST PART. YOU CAN SEE THOSE LEVELS OVER THE LAST THREE DAYS RIGHT THERE ON YOUR SCREEN. NITRATES IN THE RACCOON RIVER HAVE FALLEN EACH DAY. LEVELS DID JUMP SLIGHTLY TODAY IN THE DES MOINES RIVER. THE FDA SAYS THE STANDARD NITRATE LEVEL FOR CLEAN DRINKING WATER IS 10MG/L, AND OFFICIALS SAY THE LAWN WATERING BAN WILL STAY IN EFFECT FOR NOW. HOWEVER, SPLASH PADS AND SPRAY GROUNDS WILL BE ALLOWED TO REOPEN TOMORROW. WE JUST GOT THAT NEWS INTO OUR NEWSROOM. BUT DURING YESTERDAY’S NEWS CONFERENCE, WATERWORKS MANAGERS SPECIFICALLY BLAMED FARM FERTILIZER FOR THE CURRENT NITRATE PROBLEM. ����vlog SENIOR REPORTER TODD MAGEL IS LIVE ALONG THE DES MOINES RIVER WITH THAT. TODD, WHAT ARE FARMERS SAYING ABOUT THIS? WELL, THEY DO HAVE SOME THOUGHTS ON IT. IT’S AN AGE OLD PROBLEM. YOU KNOW, THE METRO GETS MOST OF ITS DRINKING WATER FROM THE DES MOINES RIVER, WHICH IS BEHIND ME, THE RACCOON RIVER, WHICH IS NOT TOO FAR AWAY. AND THAT’S A PROBLEM WITH SO MUCH FARMLAND JUST NORTH OF DES MOINES SHED SO MUCH FERTILIZER INTO THOSE RIVERS EVERY TIME IT RAINS RIGHT NOW, WE ARE FACING A VERY SIGNIFICANT NITRATE CHALLENGE. DURING A NEWS CONFERENCE TUESDAY, DES MOINES WATER WORKS CEO TED CORRIGAN SAID THE CHALLENGE BOILS DOWN TO TOO MANY NITRATES OR FERTILIZER IN THE WATER WE USE TO DRINK, AND THAT FERTILIZER IS EASY TO TRACK. BACK TO IOWA, AGRICULTURE. ACTUALLY, MORE THAN 90% OF THE NITRATE THAT WE SEE IN OUR SOURCE WATERS IS FROM FERTILIZER THAT IS APPLIED TO ROW CROP FIELDS AND THEN ULTIMATELY FINDS ITS WAY INTO THE SURFACE WATER, RIVERS AND STREAMS HERE IN CENTRAL IOWA, BEN METER FARMER RYAN MARQUARDT DOESN’T DISAGREE, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BEHOOVE US TO TRY TO LOOK FOR WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER AS OPPOSED TO I MEAN, THE BLAME GAME DOESN’T REALLY RESULT IN ANY KIND OF PRODUCTIVE OUTCOME. IT JUST LEADS TO FINGER POINTING. AND WE DON’T GET ANY POSITIVE SOLUTIONS. FOR YEARS, IOWA LEADERS HAVE TRIED TO SOLVE THE STATE’S GROWING WATER QUALITY PROBLEMS. MARK HAUGHT IS A MEMBER OF THE IOWA FARMERS UNION. THEY SUPPORT A MULTI-PART SOLUTION INCLUDING BETTER WETLAND AND TILING PRACTICES, MORE COVER CROPS, BIOREACTORS AND TERRACING, HE SAYS. SENDING EXPENSIVE FERTILIZER DOWN THE DRAIN IS BAD FOR FARMERS, TOO. I MEAN, THEY’RE PAYING TO PUT, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF THEIR FERTILIZER TREATMENT. THEY’RE PAYING TO PUT THAT ON, ON THEIR FIELDS. SO IT BEHOOVES THEM TO TO KEEP IT AND CAPTURE IT AND OR TO KEEP IT OUT OF THE WATERWAY. SO, I MEAN, YEAH, THEY WANT TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION. DENMARK CORDOVA FARMERS UNION SAYS THEY NEED TO BRING TOGETHER ALL SIDES SOONER THAN LATER TO TACKLE THIS PROBLEM. BUT HE SAYS HE DOES NOT EXPECT ANYTHING TO HAPPEN ANYTIME SOON. WE’RE LIVE IN DES MOINES. TODD MAGEL, KCC