Environment

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In this July 26, 2013, photo, Des Moines Water Works lab technician Bill Blubaugh takes a water sample from the Raccoon River in Des Moines. The water works has faced high nitrate levels for many years in the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers, which supply drinking water to 500,000 people. The mandate to increase ethanol production, with millions of acres of new row crops being planted, is helping to increase nitrate pollution in municipal water supplies like Des Moines. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)