Volunteers document Iowa's poor water quality

Biological sampling at 150 stream sites across Iowa last year found that roughly two-thirds had poor or fair water quality, according to results from a volunteer program coordinated through the Izaak Walton League.

Why it matters: High levels of pollution can lead to harmful algae blooms, fish kills and human health problems.

• Brain-eating amoebas killed a swimmer at Lake of Three Fires in southern Iowa last year, the first confirmed case in the state.

Catch up quick: The league’s "Save our Streams" is the only nationwide program that trains volunteers to collect scientifically valid data to assess the quality of local waterways.

• The group launched a concentrated Iowa steam monitoring program in 2019, partly in response to the state dismantling IOWATER — a volunteer program coordinated through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Zoom in: Only about a third of stream samples were deemed to be good or excellent — results that don’t bode well for Iowa water, Heather Wilson, a coordinator of the Iowa program, told Axios.

• Soil erosion, excessive nutrients from chemical fertilizers and high fecal bacteria levels are among the factors harming our water quality, according to the league.

What they’re saying: Droughts and weather patterns with more freeze and thaw cycles are believed to be contributing to the water quality problems, Polk County Conservation director Rich Leopold told Axios.

• His staff documented elevated levels of chloride in metro streams, which can be toxic to aquatic life.

What's next: Metro officials recently launched efforts to improve water quality by promoting cover crops and establishing hundreds of acres of native prairies.

• But it could take years for some of their benefits to surface in ecological monitoring, Leopold noted.