Water Quality in the Eastern Iowa Basins, Iowa and Minnesota, 1996–98

By Stephen J. Kalkhoff, Kimberlee K. Barnes, Kent D. Becher, Mark E. Savoca, Douglas J. Schnoebelen, Eric M. Sadorf, Stephen D. Porter, and Daniel J. Sullivan

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 1210

The full report is available in pdf.  Links to the pdf.

A contribution of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program

• NATIONAL WATER-QUALITY ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
• SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS
  • Stream and River Highlights
  • Ground-Water Highlights
• INTRODUCTION TO THE EASTERN IOWA BASINS
• MAJOR FINDINGS
  • Nutrients in Ground Water and Streams
  • NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE—Nutrient concentrations in streams were among the highest in the Nation
  • Animal Feeding Operations contribute additional nutrients to streams
  • Pesticides in Ground Water and Streams
  • NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE—Pesticide concentrations rank higher in ground water than in streams and rivers
  • What is a Pesticide Degradate?
  • Multiple pesticide compounds occur more frequently in streams than in ground water
  • Other Organic Compounds
  • NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE—MTBE detection rates are similar to the average detection rate in the Nation
  • NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE—Biological communities in streams consist of organisms that are moderately to highly tolerant of environmental degradation
  • Riparian buffer zones influence the quality of Midwestern streams and rivers
• STUDY UNIT DESIGN
• APPENDIX—WATER-QUALITY FROM THE EASTERN IOWA BASINS IN A NATIONAL CONTEXT
• References
• A Coordinated Effort
• Glossary