We All Have a Role to Play
The Nitrate Watch program is about more than raising awareness and documenting nitrate pollution. It is about advocating for solutions that will reduce nutrient pollution and mitigate its effects. All of us have a role to play – including you!
On this page, you’ll find inspiration and resources to help you advocate for clean water that is free from unsafe levels of nitrate.
Action Alerts
Action Alerts make it easy to speak out, whether it’s to your members of Congress or local agencies, to make meaningful change. Click on the Action Alerts below to learn more and take action.
Take Action on Nitrate Pollution
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!
Iowans – Urge Your Lawmakers to Fund the Trust!
Fifteen years ago, Iowans voted to approve the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund—also known as IWILL—to protect the state’s natural resources for future generations. The people of Iowa were clear then, and they are clear now: clean water, healthy soil, and outdoor recreation are worth protecting and should be priority investments for our tax dollars.
Ask Congress to Protect Wetlands in the Farm Bill
Wetlands play an essential role in improving water quality, mitigating flooding, and providing critical habitat for fish and wildlife. The Farm Bill presents a meaningful opportunity to protect America’s wetlands, and the next one is being drafted now. Urge your members of Congress to protect wetlands in the Farm Bill!
Spread the Word
The first step toward combating a pollution problem is elevating the issue. Use these resources to get the word out about nitrate pollution and the Nitrate Watch program.
Spread the Word
The first step toward combating a pollution problem is elevating the issue. Use these resources to get the word out about nitrate pollution and the Nitrate Watch program.
Contact Local Officials
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).
Contact 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 the Nitrate Watch petition and call on community leaders to stop harmful nitrate pollution.
Share Your Advocacy Actions
Let us know how you’ve taken your water quality monitoring to the next level.
“Advocacy” can mean lots of things – sharing your water quality data with community members, writing a letter to the editor, contacting local leaders, handing out flyers, cleaning up trash in your stream, and so much more. If you’ve taken any actions, big or small, to try to improve water quality in your community, we want to hear about it!
Looking for More Guidance?
The Save Our Streams Advocacy Guide shows you how to take action at the local, state or federal level to protect the waterways you monitor. You’ll find valuable tips and advice on how to organize your community, influence policymakers and create positive change for your streams.
Looking for More Guidance?
The Save Our Streams Advocacy Guide shows you how to take action at the local, state or federal level to protect the waterways you monitor. You’ll find valuable tips and advice on how to organize your community, influence policymakers and create positive change for your streams.
Your kit will include a bottle containing 25 nitrate test strips which you can use to test your water source(s) throughout the year. You’ll also receive postcards explaining how to use your nitrate test strips and how to share your Nitrate Watch results on the Clean Water Hub.
Your kit will include four test strips so you can test your waterway throughout the season. You’ll also receive a chart to help you interpret your results and a postcard with instructions for completing a Salt Watch test and reporting your findings.