In the past decade, Iowa factory farms have paid less than $750,000 in punitive penalties for 179 reported illegal manure spills into state waterways, finds a new analysis of Iowa Department of Natural Resources data released Monday by the national environmental group Food & Water Watch. This news comes as more than half of Iowa’s assessed waters are impaired, and as public drinking water cleanup costs skyrocket to an estimated $66 million annually.
Accompanying the analysis is a new interactive factory farm spill map, detailing all reported manure releases that reached waterways from Iowa factory farms from 2013-2023. Group officials say factory farm waste is a clear threat to clean water and public health. Spills release raw animal feces and urine laden with pharmaceuticals, pathogens, nitrates and pesticides into waterways — all of which are known to cause human diseases, including birth defects and cancers.
Findings include:
- From 2013 to 2023, factory farms illegally contaminated Iowa waterways with animal manure at least 179 times, in quantities of up to 1 million gallons
- Factory farm operators responsible for these spills paid a total of $728,108 in punitive penalties to DNR, EPA, and the Iowa Attorney General for their illegal actions
- Highest spill concentrations occurred in six northwest Iowa counties — Lyon, Osceola, Sioux, O’Brien, Plymouth, and Palo Alto — all of which rank near the top for factory farmed animal density nationwide
- Factory farm polluters were charged an additional $313,500 in compensatory fines for more than 30 documented fish kills, which collectively killed 1.9 million fish
