Newsroom

Algae, E.coli, and Closures: Wrapping up the 2024 Beach Season

posted 9/6/2024
This is the final week of summer beach monitoring, unofficially ending the summer recreational season. Thank you for following along with us for the past 15 weeks of Weekly Water Watch. Before we turn our focus toward fall, let's look back at another unprecedented year of Iowa beach advisories.

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New Book Examines Environmental Issues Through Conversations with Iowans from Diverse Backgrounds and Experiences

posted 9/4/2024
IEC has released Sacrifice State: Iowa Voices on Environment and Justice, a collaborative book project with Drake University's Drake Community Press. IEC and Drake University faculty and students partnered to examine evolving environmental issues through the lens of diverse Iowans.

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Environmental Groups Push for Energy Transparency as IUC Reviews Renewable Verification Rules

posted 8/27/2024
The Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) and the Iowa Environmental Council (IEC) voiced their support today for the Iowa Utilities Commission's (IUC) proposal to rescind its Renewable Energy Verification rules during a Commission hearing.

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IEC Launches 'Iowa Water Watchdogs' Awareness Campaign

posted 7/19/2024
This summer, the Iowa Environmental Council announced its newest education and awareness campaign, "Iowa Water Watchdogs." The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness about the risks of cyanotoxin poisoning in dogs that come into contact with harmful algae blooms in Iowa's natural waterways. Read on to learn more.

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IEC Writes Open Letter to DNR, Calling for More Water Monitoring

posted 7/18/2024
This morning, the Iowa Environmental Council sent a letter to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Kayla Lyon. This letter is a formal request to the DNR to use ambient surface and groundwater quality testing funds to be broadened to include surface waters, public drinking water wells, and privately-owned wells. This change would help the DNR analyze the impacts of flooding on local water quality, citing the recent floods Northeastern Iowa.

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Call it What You Want, Iowa's Climate Reckoning is Here

posted 7/5/2024
Extreme weather, global warming, a need for resilience; whatever you call it, look around and you'll see the reality-Iowa's climate reckoning is here. The question we should be asking ourselves is what will we do now? Read on for the entire newsroom article by IEC's Executive Director Sarah Green.

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IEC Publishes New White Paper on Drought and Drinking Water

posted 6/18/2024
As Iowa grapples with how to manage water resources in the face of drought and other extreme swings in weather due to climate change, the Iowa Environmental Council has published a new white paper: Drought and Iowa's Drinking Water. The paper reviews drought vulnerabilities in Iowa, drought impacts on groundwater and surface water sources of drinking water, and mitigation and policy recommendations for managing future drought impacts.

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Press Release - Data Shows Iowa Air Quality Monitoring is Insufficient to Protect Public Health

posted 6/17/2024
Too much of Iowa's asthma-causing pollution is going unmonitored by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), especially in areas with susceptible populations, according to data from U.S. EPA's Environmental Justice screening and mapping tool. The Iowa Environmental Council (IEC) submitted comments to the Iowa DNR urging increases and changes in the DNR's air monitoring stations, especially for large communities suffering from increased asthma rates.

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IEC statement on referral of New Cooperative enforcement to the Iowa Attorney General's Office

posted 5/22/2024
The New Cooperative fertilizer release in March 2024 was one of the most significant water pollution events in recent memory. By discharging 265,000 gallons of concentrated fertilizer, the discharge decimated the ecosystem by killing an estimated 749,000 fish and untold other aquatic life. The damage stretched 60 miles downstream until the contaminated Nishnabotna River reached the Missouri River.

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IEC publishes new report on health risks of nitrate in drinking water

posted 5/21/2024
Today, the Iowa Environmental Council (IEC) published a new report "Nitrate in Drinking Water: A Public Health Concern for All Iowans," outlining the risks of nitrate in drinking water to Iowans of all ages. The report summarizes a growing body of research linking nitrate in drinking water to public health risks, including cancers, thyroid diseases, developmental delays, and more.

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