Giving Compass' Take:

• Local governments in cities and towns must work together to fight water pollution due to phosphorus and nitrogren contaminants from fertilizer. 

• What makes solutions to water pollution complicated and multi-layered? 

• Read more on how government policies failed to fight water pollution in Florida.

The greatest lubricant for intergovernmental harmony may well be water. I know that sounds odd, but the nation’s largest bays and lakes offer compelling examples of how multiple states can work with each other -- and also with towns and cities, federal agencies, universities, nonprofits, and foreign governments -- to combat water pollution.

There is a lot of work to do. Ambitious surveys of more than 2,000 locations carried out in five-year cycles by the states and the Environmental Protection Agency show that a little more than half of the nation’s rivers and streams are significantly polluted.

That dirty water, in turn, flows downstream into the nation’s bays, lakes and coastal areas. The chief contaminants are nitrogen and phosphorus, which contribute to the formation of algae blooms that lower oxygen levels needed to support aquatic life. A lot of the phosphorus comes from fertilizer, so the problem is particularly acute near farmland, though urban areas contribute as well.

A good example of this phenomenon is Lake Champlain in New England -- one of the most beautiful inland lakes in the country, but also one of those most threatened by what is known as “legacy phosphorus.” The Lake Champlain Basin Program was created 23 years ago and has the support of Vermont, New York and the Canadian province of Quebec, plus a wide array of local governments and private organizations.

The water pollution challenge to governments at all levels is daunting because it mixes intricate science with complicated politics. But the intergovernmental outcome generally has been positive. But the EPA regional offices have continued to be a positive force. That is vital. In the age of Trump, it also is highly uncertain.

Read the full article about water pollution by  Peter Harkness at Governing Magazine.