A large log floats downstream as the Floyd River roils past the Dace Avenue bridge in Sioux City, Iowa, June 23, 2024.Health experts are warning of the possibility of floodwaters containing "fecal soup" after an agriculture-heavy region in Iowa was inundated with an unprecedented amount of precipitation.
A large log floats downstream as the Floyd River roils past the Dace Avenue bridge in Sioux City, Iowa, June 23, 2024.The affected counties are home to more than 900 factory farms that produce about 23.6 billion pounds of animal waste annually -- 175 times the human waste that is produced in all five counties, according to the group.
MORE: Streams that supply drinking water in danger following 2023 Supreme Court decision that stripped wetlands protections: Report MORE: Why some states are discharging much more chemical waste into local waterways, according to new report Residents affected by the floodwaters "must remain on constant guard against the threat of animal waste," Amanda Starbuck, director of Food and Water Watch, said in a statement.