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 the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent journalism collaborative based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, Farm to Trouble examines what can stem the flow of the farm runoff that’s choking the Gulf.
Runoff from fertilized fields threatens marine wildlife, fisheries and water supplies. 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.
Just one year away from a 2025 deadline to reduce nitrate and phosphorus entering the Gulf by 20 percent, success seems unlikely.
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.
Worsening 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.”
Sluggish progress on reducing nutrient runoff into the Chesapeake Bay marks an inconvenient truth, but offers lessons for others seeking to clean their watersheds.
Agricultural drainage tile, a system used by farmers to increase crop yields, is a main contributor to excess nutrients in waterways.
NOAA’s forecast is based on the amount of nutrients monitored by USGS in the system, so depending on weather, and whether hurricanes stir up water in the gulf this summer, what the scientists actually measure in August could differ.
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