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How much does it really cost us to clean up our waterways from farm runoff

Posted by: Maven on December 12, 2008 at 5:39 am

From AlterNet:

The pollution of fresh water by agricultural nutrients costs government agencies, drinking water facilities and individual Americans at least $4.3 billion a year in total, finds new research from Kansas State University.

Biology professor Walter Dodds, who led the study, says the researchers calculated that $44 million a year is spent just protecting aquatic species from nutrient pollution.

Dodds and the K-State researchers based their conclusions on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data on nitrogen and phosphorous levels in bodies of water throughout the country.

The damaging chemicals — phosphorous and nitrogen — enter the environment from nonpoint sources rather than flowing into a lake or stream from one pipe. They enter the water from various points, such as runoff from row crop agriculture across the surrounding lands, said Dodd.

The researchers calculated the money lost from that pollution by looking at factors like decreasing lakefront property values, the cost of treating drinking water and the revenue lost when fewer people take part in recreational activities like fishing or boating.

Read more from AlterNet by clicking here.

December 12, 2008 · Filed Under Agriculture, Water Quality

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