water quality

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.

State lawmakers want farmers in western Kansas to take action by 2026 to halt declines in the Ogallala aquifer. But the region’s whole agriculture system is built to produce irrigated grain at a high volume.

The Ogallala aquifer is a critical source of water in western Kansas, and it’s running dry. It plays a major role in the daily lives of Kansans, even for people who don’t live on top of it.

Several south-central Kansas counties are seeing a dramatic increase in groundwater contamination. The region’s nitrate pollution comes primarily from agriculture.

Artificial floating wetlands naturally filter water from contaminants and excess nutrients. There are about a dozen in the state, and the Missouri Department of Conservation wants to add more.

Researchers at the University of Missouri college of engineering have designed a filter to fit on standard faucets with the goal of removing lead and microplastics.

Decades of data show nitrate levels in rivers often drop during dry years and spike when rain returns. Experts say more conservation practices in and around farm fields could help smooth out the sharp peaks to protect drinking water and downstream impacts.

The signs released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers warn of "low-level radioactive materials present" near Coldwater Creek in St. Louis.

Previous rules required spills of any size to be reported to the state, while the new rules set minimum quantities to alert regulators.

The majority of the pollutants released by Tyson in the five years the study examines were in the Midwestern states of Nebraska, Illinois and Missouri.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced the first federal limits on PFAS in drinking water. Only two Midwestern states currently have limits on levels acceptable in drinking water.

Missouri is home to a host of reliable freshwater systems, but lawmakers worry that dryer states will look to it for supplies. A bill advancing through the Missouri House prohibits exporting water to other states without a permit.