Iowa waters contaminated by nutrients? Oh, that’s bound to happen

Oops!

Somebody forgot to shut the valve — so 265,000 gallons of toxic agricultural chemicals (liquid nitrogen fertilizer) drained into the East Nishnabotna River south of Red Oak.

Gee, sorry about that! Sad that some aquatic life died.

But, golly, it’s partly Mother Nature’s fault. She caused the drought that made the river water too low for “dilution is the solution to pollution” to help.

Aw, the Nish wasn’t a prime stream anyway, since it was channelized a century ago. Probably not many critters still lived there besides a few carp and catfish. Biologists will try to count the dead ones. That’s how they calculate a slap-on-the wrist fine.

Eventually, some fish might even return to the Nish. Maybe even some frogs and snakes and water bugs? Unless there happens to be another “oops” …

And the farm well your kids drink?

Maybe Walmart will have a sale on bottled water.

Certainly, don’t try to compare the lowly Nish with real streams, like Bloody Run Creek, in the opposite corner of the state. Now that’s an Outstanding Iowa Water — barring, of course, another “oops” from 8,000 or 10,000 cattle the DNR has allowed to be penned at its headwaters!

But when Iowa brags about feeding the world — and producing corn ethanol to fuel their cars — industrial agriculture accidents are bound to happen!

Breaking news – the East Nish loses again when a gasoline leaks from an underground tank in Atlantic. Does anyone care about Iowa water?

Larry Stone

Elkader