The perfect storm erupted on Doug Rainforth’s birthday.

Droughts in years prior had dried out the soil in Fairmont, Minnesota, where Rainforth manages the city’s water treatment plant. Rainforth suspects the drought concentrated both nutrients and pollutants — including nitrate left over from fertilizer — in the crop fields surrounding the small town.

Then, in 2016, the state recorded the most precipitation in its history.

What happened next is an example of the problems — and ingenuity — cash-strapped cities and counties have with protecting their drinking water from the hundreds of thousands of tons of fertilizer spread in the surrounding crop fields.

The spring rains sunk down, flushing out the stored nutrients in the soil. The nitrate-laden water then seeped into drainage pipes laid beneath the fields, which channeled the stream into nearby watersheds. Eventually, the water made its way into the chain of lakes where Fairmont sources its drinking water.

On May 19, 2016, nitrate levels spiked to more than 20 percent over the federal standard.

Nitrate is a naturally occurring compound undetectable by taste, sight or smell. When consumed in large quantities, it can affect how the blood carries oxygen, especially in infants and immunocompromised people. Nitrate is also linked to certain types of cancer.

A study by the Environmental Working Group published on June 23 found that nitrate pollution in tap water is more likely in lower-income communities. In Minnesota, 73% of water utilities with elevated nitrate were in areas that fell below the average state income.

Nitrogen contamination is linked to livestock production as the tons of nitrogen-rich manure produced by animal feeding operations is used as fertilizer in crop fields.

Preventing nitrate from entering drinking water sources is often more effective and less expensive than removing nitrate from the water, said University of Minnesota researcher Joe Magner.

Read the full article about nitrate-contaminated water by Madison McVan at The Counter.