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Beneath the Surface, Minnesota's Pending Ground Water Challenge

You can't talk about water use in Minnesota for long before you get around to talking about farming.

That's clear from two recent stories by MPR News.

One, by MPR News reporter Dan Gunderson, showed how 

increased irrigation and leaching of nitrates

 from fertilizers are forcing the city of Park Rapids to spend more to get good water for residents. The city has been forced to drill a deeper well to get away from the contamination, and the treatment required for that water is driving a typical family's water bill up $130 a year, Gunderson reported.

The other, by freelance reporter Dan Haugen, 

showed how irrigation wells in western Stearns County and eastern Pope County are drawing down water tables

, at least seasonally. Irrigation pumping in the area known as the Bonanza Valley has grown much faster than in the rest of the state, and state Department of Natural Resources officials worry that's not sustainable.

A key point in the debate swirling around good farming practices that might reduce the amount of fertilizer reaching groundwater or local lakes and rivers is whether those practices can be something other than voluntary.

Today's Question: Should voluntary water regulations for farmers be made mandatory?

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– Dave Peters, editor, Beneath the Surface, Minnesota’s Pending Ground Water Challenge You can’t talk about water use in Minnesota for long before you get around to talking about farming. That’s clear from two recent stories by MPR News. One, by MPR News reporter Dan Gunderson, showed how increased irrigation and leaching of nitrates from…

Should voluntary water regulations for farmers be made mandatory?

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