Izaak Walton League of America

Write a Letter to the Editor

Use the following templates as inspiration for a letter to the editor. Remember to make these templates your own by adding information about the impact of nutrient pollution on your community. Including data from your Nitrate Watch testing is a great way to make your letter unique!

• Iowa


• Other states

Hand Out Flyers

Use these flyers to educate your community about nitrate pollution.

• Nutrient Pollution 101


• Nitrate & Drinking Water


• Nitrate and Algae


• Healthy Soil, Clean Water


• Cost of Nitrate Pollution


• Reducing Nitrate Pollution at Home
• Nitrate Pollution Solutions


• >Regenerative Agriculture

Contact Your Health Department

Contact your city or county Department of Health if your drinking water contains nitrate levels above the EPA drinking water standard (10 mg/L).

Call Your Local Environmental Agency

Contact your Department of Natural Resources or Department of Environmental Quality to report consistently high nitrate levels in surface water (rivers, lakes, streams). It is also important to report harmful algal blooms caused by nutrient pollution.

Sign the Petition

Add your name to call on community leaders to stop harmful nitrate pollution.

Write a Letter to Your State Legislator or City Council

Consuming water with elevated nitrate levels is harmful to human health. The current regulatory limit is likely not sufficient to protect us. Ask your elected officials to support solutions to nitrate pollution!

Subscribe to the Nitrate Watch Newsletter

We'll send you monthly updates on ways you can take action to reduce nitrate pollution in your community.

Donate

Your generous gift will fund Nitrate Watch kits for new volunteers all over the country and help us work towards strategies to reduce nitrate pollution nationwide.

Izaak Walton League blog posts about nitrate pollution

• A Growing Problem: Nitrate in Our Water


• What Is Nitrate Pollution?


• The Cancer Risk of Nitrate Pollution


• Algal Blooms: The Causes, Dangers and Some Solutions


• Shedding Some Light on Our Murky Waters


• Alex's Nitrate Watch Blog

Video resources

• Nitrate Pollution and Public Health - A webinar with Dr. David Cwiertny of the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination


• Wetlands: Protecting Nature's Water Filters - A webinar with Dr. Maria Lemke of The Nature Conservancy


• Nitrate in Drinking Water: Public & Private - A webinar with Jeff Mitchell (Des Moines Water Works) and Jesse Campbell (Midwest Assistance Program)


• Nitrate Watch and the Fight Against Nutrient Pollution - A webinar with Alicia Vasto of the Iowa Environmental Council


• The State of Nitrate Pollution – A webinar with Dr. Chris Jones (University of Iowa) and Eric Fuchs (Missouri Rural Water Association)


• We've Got to Stop Kidding Ourselves: How We Use the Land Has Consequences – Presentations by Dr. Jerry Hatfield (USDA), Dr. David Cwiertny (University of Iowa), and Professor Neil Hamilton (Drake University), recorded at the 2019 Izaak Walton League National Convention in Des Moines, IA