DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa water quality expert and local farmer address the high nitrate concerns as levels in the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers remain near record levels.

The Central Iowa Water Works ban on lawn watering continues due to high nitrate levels, which has caused water treatment facilities to run at capacity. The issue has caused many to look to the source of the high nitrate levels.

A former University of Iowa researcher, Des Moines Water Work employee, and Iowa water quality expert says they have known about the water quality issue for more than 50 years.

“Our land that’s cropped for corn and soybeans, and that land is often tiled or drained. And so we have these networks of porous pipes that lie underneath the fields four feet down. And so the nitrate travels through the soil profile into the tile and out to the stream,” said Chris Jones, Iowa water quality expert.

Nitrates are an essential part of farming that are delivered through fertilizers. However, there are ways to control the runoff, such as cover crops, saturated buffers, and soil testing.

The Iowa Farmers Union says over the past five years, more than 60 Iowa communities have reported unsafe nitrate levels in their drinking water. They also estimate the clean-up costs for nutrient pollution are estimated at $4 billion.

Many Iowa farmers acknowledge their part in the issue but face roadblocks in hindering runoff.

“We’re ready to jump in. But unfortunately, a lot of the resources that farmers use to help with clean water, help make healthy landscapes on the lot of those very programs that are the farmer or public partnership are on the chopping,” said Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union.

Lehman says several farmers were recently in Washington D.C. and stressed to lawmakers the need for aid to address water quality and improve farming practices.

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