LINCOLN- A new state program, approved in 2022 to help reduce nitrate pollution in drinking water, is struggling to get started, more than a year after it became law. LB925, the Resilient Soils and Water Quality Act, provided $1.25 million over five years to hire a non-government “facilitator” to organize small-group, educational meetings with farmers to promote conservation practices that reduce nitrate pollution in groundwater and surface water.

But so far, no facilitator has been hired, and education sessions are still being mulled. A website is in the works, however, and a five-page annual report was produced in December while an employee with the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources is sorting out the best way to use the funding. Former State Sen. Tim Gragert said the program hasn't left the ground and “It’s kind of disappointing."

The state’s 2022 annual report on groundwater quality found that nearly 30% (157 out of 550) of the state’s public water systems had to regularly test for nitrate levels to discern if they exceeded the level deemed unsafe for drinking — 10 parts per billion. These nitrates have been linked to blue baby syndrome, birth defects, and cancers. The Department of Natural Resources has yet to comment on the situation.

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