As WOTUS revisions<\/a> make their way through a public comment period and face likely legal challenges, water quality improvements can\u2019t wait. Here\u2019s why, and what we can do in the meantime.<\/p>\n Heavy rain increases pollution risk<\/strong><\/p>\n Climate models predict increased rainfall and heavier storms for much of the Midwest and Northeast \u2013 including on the 90 million acres of farmland that surround the Mississippi River, our nation\u2019s largest waterway. These storms will increase the risk and severity of water quality impacts.<\/p>\n Farmers have made big strides in optimizing nutrient management and soil health to reduce the risk of runoff and protect surrounding watersheds, but there\u2019s still a long ways to go.Collaborative approaches can maintain agricultural productivity while ensuring safe drinking water and thriving waterways for people and wildlife. <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Even with sophisticated precision technology<\/a> to apply fertilizer in the right place, time and amount, heavy rains can quickly wash nutrients into surface water and groundwater. That\u2019s due in part to the widespread use of tile drains, installed to quickly remove excess water off farm fields. These drainage systems have changed the hydrology of the Midwest and have diminished the natural filtering function of soils.<\/p>\n More than a hundred years of converting natural prairies, wetlands and riparian areas into cropland has also dramatically reduced natural water filtration.<\/p>\n In-field conservation on individual farms must be paired with edge-of-field and watershed-level conservation to fully address the challenges caused by heavy precipitation.<\/p>\n Restoring natural water filters requires new investments<\/strong><\/p>\n Long-term, measurable water quality improvements will require the restoration of wetlands and strips of natural vegetation between farms and waterways. These aren\u2019t the wetlands that WOTUS would protect, but rather wetlands that have already disappeared.<\/p>\n Unlike other conservation practices that have a clear return on investment<\/a>, restoring buffers, filters and wetlands \u2013 even on marginal land \u2013 won\u2019t pencil out for producers, bankers or investors. Fortunately, state and federal governments are stepping up with targeted public investment.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/52\/files\/2019\/01\/33477203253_47d25b8709_o-1-1024x680.jpg\")