An Iowa Town Spent $800,000 On a New Well. It Pumps Undrinkable Water.
Key takeaways
- The town of Princeton, Iowa, has shuttered two wells in two decades due to persistent nitrate contamination.
- Late in 2022, an overly powerful pump caused eight months of costly water main breaks in Princeton, a town of nearly 1,000 residents on the banks of the silty Mississippi River.
- Installing a smaller motor seemed to fix that issue, but revealed a different, all-too-familiar problem: nitrate contamination.
Why this matters: environmental and climate reporting with long-term consequences.
June 3, 2026 Share This Article Republish. The town of Princeton, Iowa, has shuttered two wells in two decades due to persistent nitrate contamination. Credit: Anika Jane Beamer/Inside Climate News Related Sewage and Fuel Leaks Contaminate the Potomac River, Source of Drinking Water for More Than 5 Million People With Fertilizer Pollution on the Rise, Iowa Will Invest $100 Million in Water Treatment Iowa’s Water Crisis Could Help Tip the Scales for Control of US House Share This Article Republish Most Popular EPA Rollbacks Could Raise AC, Refrigeration Costs Despite Promise of Lower Prices Scientists Outplant Experimental ‘Flonduran’ Corals in Florida’s Dry Tortugas National Park DOE Restarts Home Efficiency Rebates, and Electrification Is the Biggest Loser PRINCETON, Iowa—From the beginning, the new well was a headache.
Late in 2022, an overly powerful pump caused eight months of costly water main breaks in Princeton, a town of nearly 1,000 residents on the banks of the silty Mississippi River.
Installing a smaller motor seemed to fix that issue, but revealed a different, all-too-familiar problem: nitrate contamination.