Nitrates in Nebraska
/DID YOU KNOW THIS WEEK IS DRINKING WATER WEEK? WHAT'S IN YOUR WATER?
This professional project was written and edited by Jessica Fargen Walsh in 2019 when she she was a graduate assistant pursuing a master's degree in professional journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Jessica interviewed at least 60 people including farmers, townspeople, village water operators, mayors, business owners, researchers, natural resources district managers, and a mother of a child who had cancer. She drove more than 1,600 miles, and visited more than a dozen towns and cities. She wanted to tell the story of the impact of nitrate contamination from all points of view in the hopes of creating awareness. It's a problem that people are trying to fix, but is not really getting better. The site was published in December 2019 and updated in April 2020. She wants more people to ask themselves: What's in my water?