Water that runs off fields treated with chemical fertilizers and manure is loaded with nitrogen and phosphorus, two potent pollutants that inevitably end up in rivers and lakes and set off a cascade of harmful consequences, contaminating the drinking water used by millions of Americans. Treating this water after the fact to clean up the contamination is increasingly expensive, difficult and, if current trends continue, ultimately unsustainable. The only solution that will preserve the clean, healthy and tasty drinking water that people expect is to tackle the problem at the source. 

Animal waste and fertilizer from farming operations in California’s Salinas Valley and Tulare Lake Basin are the source of 96 percent of the nitrate contamination in the area’s groundwater, a new study commissioned by the State Water Resources Control Board found.

Today, Environmental Working Group released a new research paper by conservationist Max Schnepf that looks at the history of America’s eroding conservation compact and how farmers view the long-standing deal between them and taxpayers.

According to a Huffington Post article published today, U.S. Marine Corps officials have urged federal health experts not to release complete information about an ongoing federal water assessment at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, home to the largest documented case of water contamination at a domestic military facilit

Nearly 40 Marine veterans diagnosed with male breast cancer today urged President Obama to support legislation in Congress that would provide health care for those made ill by carcinogenic chemicals that contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

EWG submits comments on EPA's IRIS program draft toxicological review of hexavalent chromium.

A new report from Government Accountability Office, Congress's investigative arm, shows that a number of states have made serious errors in tap water safety data reporting. GAO attributed the lapses to inadequate funding and oversight.

The California Environmental Protection Agency has set a public health goal of 0.02 parts per billion for drinking water contamination with the carcinogenic compound hexavalent chromium, or chromium-6.

When I was growing up in Pennsylvania, my mother used to admonish me to conserve water during droughts. "Turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth," she'd say, "and take a shorter shower." Most people have heard this advice. But is it the most effective way to reduce water use?