David Cwiertny
@dcwiertny.bsky.social
Director CHEEC, Professor of Environmental Engineering and Chemistry, University of Iowa.
The article is paywalled, but this is some complete and utter bullshit…
August 12, 2025 at 11:44 AM
The article is paywalled, but this is some complete and utter bullshit…
Critical infrastructure.
July 31, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Critical infrastructure.
And if Iowans are looking for a local angle, we have been waiting since 2010 for a new health assessment of nitrate that may tell us the SDWA standard of 10 mg/L as N isn’t sufficient to protect folks from cancer and adverse birth outcomes. The future of that assessment is seriously in doubt….
July 19, 2025 at 12:31 PM
And if Iowans are looking for a local angle, we have been waiting since 2010 for a new health assessment of nitrate that may tell us the SDWA standard of 10 mg/L as N isn’t sufficient to protect folks from cancer and adverse birth outcomes. The future of that assessment is seriously in doubt….
One of these things is not like the other ones….
July 12, 2025 at 1:04 PM
One of these things is not like the other ones….
Cedar Rapids, how you doing?
June 21, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Cedar Rapids, how you doing?
And just so we are clear on the water quality at Lake Ridge Estates, this is what their water looks like during what we call a “brown water event”. Water is high in manganese and iron, and the suspended particles are coated in arsenic. These folks deserve better.
June 18, 2025 at 9:39 PM
And just so we are clear on the water quality at Lake Ridge Estates, this is what their water looks like during what we call a “brown water event”. Water is high in manganese and iron, and the suspended particles are coated in arsenic. These folks deserve better.
Cedar Rapids and Iowa City don’t want Des Moines to get all the attention, I guess. Don’t let anyone tell you this is normal or the way it has to be. Rivers brimming with nitrate, hundreds of thousands of consumers with water supplies on the brink, and shameful silence from our leaders.
June 16, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Cedar Rapids and Iowa City don’t want Des Moines to get all the attention, I guess. Don’t let anyone tell you this is normal or the way it has to be. Rivers brimming with nitrate, hundreds of thousands of consumers with water supplies on the brink, and shameful silence from our leaders.
Welcome to Iowa, where residents must sacrifice quality of life and public health because our leaders refuse to address agricultural pollution.
June 13, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Welcome to Iowa, where residents must sacrifice quality of life and public health because our leaders refuse to address agricultural pollution.
And this from the state of Wisconsin seems relevant to today’s events….
June 13, 2025 at 12:32 AM
And this from the state of Wisconsin seems relevant to today’s events….
Buckle up, Des Moines. It’s gonna be a day. Worst case scenario stuff for the Water Works.
June 11, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Buckle up, Des Moines. It’s gonna be a day. Worst case scenario stuff for the Water Works.
An absolute travesty to have such blatant disregard for the main sources of drinking water for Des Moines and the 600k Iowans served by the Water Works.
June 11, 2025 at 12:12 AM
An absolute travesty to have such blatant disregard for the main sources of drinking water for Des Moines and the 600k Iowans served by the Water Works.
Not even particularly wet this year and rivers are brimming with nitrate. 17+ mg/L N in the Iowa River @ Iowa City. All of these are drinking water sources for communities. Warmer weather in Des Moines will drive demand and stress the Water Works ability to stay under 10 mg/L N.
May 30, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Not even particularly wet this year and rivers are brimming with nitrate. 17+ mg/L N in the Iowa River @ Iowa City. All of these are drinking water sources for communities. Warmer weather in Des Moines will drive demand and stress the Water Works ability to stay under 10 mg/L N.
Field work….good for the soul.
March 11, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Field work….good for the soul.
I get recruited for just the best jobs that will really take advantage of my PhD. Then again, with the way things are going in higher ed….
February 16, 2025 at 11:22 PM
I get recruited for just the best jobs that will really take advantage of my PhD. Then again, with the way things are going in higher ed….
Good luck to all at R1s heavily reliant on NIH funding. It’s about to get really bumpy.
February 8, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Good luck to all at R1s heavily reliant on NIH funding. It’s about to get really bumpy.
Curious that an article in today’s Gazette touts Batch and Build as an example of “radical collaboration”getting things done when they recently published a story showing many of the projects B&B supports don’t actually improve water quality and just waste taxpayer dollars 🤷♂️
January 12, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Curious that an article in today’s Gazette touts Batch and Build as an example of “radical collaboration”getting things done when they recently published a story showing many of the projects B&B supports don’t actually improve water quality and just waste taxpayer dollars 🤷♂️
So, I’ll answer my own question. After already dropping $13M in taxpayer dollars into Lake Darling, it’s still so polluted we are now gonna (literally) dump another ~$3M in chemicals (alum) to try and stop algal blooms. And we will spend more money doing the same on other lakes, too. Insanity.
December 7, 2024 at 5:48 PM
So, I’ll answer my own question. After already dropping $13M in taxpayer dollars into Lake Darling, it’s still so polluted we are now gonna (literally) dump another ~$3M in chemicals (alum) to try and stop algal blooms. And we will spend more money doing the same on other lakes, too. Insanity.
Thank god for BlueSky so I can keep shit posting about horrible salt application in Iowa.
December 7, 2024 at 5:34 PM
Thank god for BlueSky so I can keep shit posting about horrible salt application in Iowa.
How’s Darling working out?
December 6, 2024 at 12:37 AM
How’s Darling working out?
You’ll want to follow this one 👇
November 18, 2024 at 4:14 PM
You’ll want to follow this one 👇