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Farm to Trouble: Series examines runoff from fields that’s causing the Gulf ‘dead zone’
Government agencies have set targets to fix the problem, but despite that effort, many say the basin is ‘not even close’ to those targets
The Gazette
Jun. 20, 2024 10:26 pm, Updated: Jun. 26, 2024 4:42 pm
Runoff from fertilized farm fields across the nation’s largest watershed has created a polluted “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico — with little sign of slowing down. What can be done to stem the flow?
This runoff threatens marine wildlife, fisheries and water supplies upstream. Government agencies set targets to fix the problem. But despite more than a quarter-century of federal effort and billions in investment, advocates, scientists, and regulators say the basin is “not even close” to those targets.
From theMississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk,an independent journalism collaborative based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, the five-partFarm to Troubleseries examines what can stem the flow of the farm runoff that’s choking the Gulf:
As conservation lags, so does progress reducing Golf ‘dead zone’One year away from a federal deadline to reduce nutrient runoff into the Gulf of Mexico by 20 percent, increases in tile drainage, livestock and fertilizer use have made success unlikely.
At the mouth of the Mississippi, Louisiana bears the burden of upstream runoff. Why doesn’t it push for solutions?This summer’s “dead zone,” a low-oxygen area where the river empties into the sea, could span 5,827 square miles across the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana has the power to call for change.
Not just a Gulf problem: Mississippi River farm runoff pollutes upstream watersWorsening local effects on health and recreation in states like Minnesota and Wisconsin are spurring action on problems that also cause the Gulf of Mexico’s chronic “dead zone.”
Could the Mississippi River benefit from Chesapeake Bay’s strategy to improve water quality?Sluggish progress on reducing nutrient runoff into the Bay marks an inconvenient truth, but offers lessons for others seeking to clean their watersheds.
Increase of drainage tile fuels nutrient pollutionAgricultural drainage tile, a system used by farmers to increase crop yields, is a main contributor to excess nutrients in waterways.