Iowa's Water: It Doesn't Have to Be This Way

Thursday, July 30

7:00 pm • Fairfield Public Library

David Cwiertny, Ph.D

Professor of Chemistry

Director, Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination

University of Iowa

Iowa has some of the worst water quality in the nation. Nitrate levels are high, too many private wells are contaminated with E. coli and other pollutants, and many beaches like Lake Darling are often closed because of harmful toxin levels.

Iowans want and deserve safe drinking water and clean lakes, rivers and streams. How can we get there?

Environmental health expert Dr. David Cwiertny will provide an overview of the current state of Iowa’s water resources, focusing on the intersection of water quality, public health, and quality of life in Iowa.

He’ll address the need for permanent state funding of IIHR’s real time nitrate monitoring program and discuss an exciting new privately funded program that will expand the number of water pollutants monitored.

On the bright side, Cwiertny will share examples of what other agricultural states are doing to successfully clean up their water.

No, Iowa’s water quality doesn’t have to be this way.

Join us on July 30 and see what Iowa could learn from other states to make improvements that benefit us all.

About Dr. David Cwiertny

Dr. David Cwiertny is the Rose and Joseph Summers Chair in Water Resources Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Iowa (UI).

His research broadly focuses on water quality and water treatment, with particular interests at the intersection of public health and policy. At UI, he directs the state-funded Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination (CHEEC), which conducts research to identify, measure, and prevent adverse health outcomes from exposure to environmental contaminants.

In 2016, he served as a Congressional Fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), working in the U.S. House of Representatives on the Committee for Energy and Commerce. David holds a BS in Environmental Engineering Science and a minor in Chemistry from U.C. Berkeley (2000), and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University (2006).

The meeting is free. A $5 free will donation helps JFAN protect Jefferson County.

Organized by Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors, Inc.