Nitrate Levels
Plants and algae rely on nitrates as a food source, but excess nitrates can stimulate the overgrowth of vegetation or massive algal blooms called eutrophication. Eutrophication can lead to hypoxia, or the depletion of dissolved oxygen, from a water body. Aquatic life, such as fish and macro-invertebrates are dependent upon adequate levels of dissolved oxygen. Therefore, nitrates can have series impacts on our fresh water systems.

EXPLORE THE GRAPH hover on the X's to see images
What visual changes can you see in the images that relate to the changing nitrate levels?

WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE?

In late September of 2013, Colorado experienced heavy rain which caused flooding downstream, in the Platte River of Nebraska. Stormwater runoff from the surrounding watershed collected contaminants along the way. Fertilizer from agriculture and lawns, sewage, animal manure, and industrial discharge are major sources of nitrates in surface water. As the water levels increased in Central Nebraska due to the flood, so did the nitrate levels- as seen by the images and the graph.