Industrial agriculture is a primary source of water pollution and toxic algae growth that result in huge dead zones where all aquatic life is suffocated
With the high levels of spring and summer rains seen in many parts of the Midwest this year, NOAA estimates the summer 2019 dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico will reach roughly 7,829 square miles, which is about the size of Massachusetts
The speed of agricultural runoff is largely dictated by poor soil conditions that prevent water retention, but artificial drainage also appears to play a decisive role, adding to the problem by speeding up the runoff
In recent years, there’s been a significant uptick in the practice, and it’s not entirely known just how much of our farmland is being artificially drained into our waterways
According to one research engineer, drainage tiles double the speed at which nitrates enter waterways
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