water quality

A proposed data center caused a public outcry in recent weeks in St. Charles, Missouri, with residents criticizing the secrecy around the project and its potential to contaminate water.

A recent study found that some beer produced in the U.S. — including in St. Louis — contains PFAS, which are human-made compounds that accumulate in the human body and don't easily degrade. Studies have indicated the presence of PFAS in St. Louis-area water.

Officials with KC Water say heavy rainfall around Omaha, Nebraska, is the reason people in the Kansas City area have noticed a strange taste and odor to their water in the last couple of days. The water is safe to drink, officials insist, and the treated water is slowly moving south, so everyone's water should taste the way it always has by Wednesday.

The cattle feedlots on the western side of Kansas produce a significant amount of the beef in your grocery store. But a small town in the region is now opposing a feedlot because of health and environmental concerns.

After debates where local dentists made the case that fluoridated water was a crucial part of dental health, and out-of-town opponents argued it was dangerous, Rolla City Council has postponed a vote on a measure to remove fluoride from the drinking water.

For more than 50 years, the Columbia Environmental Research Center has produced research about contaminants and their effects in the water and on land. President Trump's proposed funding cuts to the U.S. Geological Survey would lay off all of its employees.

Utah's governor recently signed a bill into law banning the addition of fluoride into the state's public water systems. City councils in Rolla and Hannibal have proposed banning fluoride in response to unsubstantiated claims from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Almost half of the nation's tap water is estimated to contain PFAS, or "forever chemicals." University of Missouri associate professor Frank Xiao and his team believe they’ve found a partial solution.

Missouri state Sen. Mike Henderson said the bill protects farmers’ privacy. Public information advocates and environmental groups worry about the loss of transparency.

Under a 40-year-old law, the U.S. Department of Agriculture can withhold subsidies, like crop insurance and disaster payments, from farmers who clear, drain or convert wetlands. A company that owns farmland in Iowa says it’s unconstitutional.

The debate in Abilene, Kansas, could be a precursor to other communities considering the move because members of the incoming Trump administration are advocating to get rid of fluoride in drinking water. Experts say dental health is at stake.

As Kansas Citians begin a holiday season of feasting, a rising number of people don’t know where or when their next meal will be. Plus: The Ogallala aquifer is a critical source of water in western Kansas, and it’s running dry.