Floods move south: Poisoned water, mud, and mosquitoes remain

As parts of Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois begin post-flood clean-up, residents down-river are still bracing for the worst. More than two dozen levees on the Mississippi River have flooded or have been breached with another two-dozen north of St. Louis at risk.

In Wisconsin, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is struggling to meet the needs of flood victims while more than 38,656 have been displaced in Iowa. There have been 17 storm-related deaths in Iowa since the tornado of May 25. Iowa State University extension services estimate between 16 and 20 percent of the state’s farmland is under water. Based on data from the floods of 1993, researchers have estimated crop damages in Iowa already exceeding $2.7 billion.

Pollution and access to clean drinking water is also becoming a serious problem. The Ethicurean blog pointed out this grim quote from a Des Moines County emergency management official: "If you drink this water and live, tell me about it. You have no idea. It is very, very wise to stay out of it. It’s as dangerous as anything."

Some of the things to be found in the flood waters is raw sewage, ammonia, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, and immense amounts of manure. And all that water means the mosquitoes are hatching in massive numbers.

Minnesota is very fortunate to have avoided major flooding this spring. The pleasant weather we are enjoying now is far removed from the destruction, filth and danger found a few hundred miles south. Lynda Waddington of our sister-site the Iowa Independent gathered this footage of the damage in Cedar Rapids after the water receded.

Those interested in volunteering for the effort can do so through the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, AmeriCorps or through the State of Iowa.