{"query_echo":{"q":"","filters":{"geography":["Upper Midwest"]},"warnings":[{"code":"facet_value_not_in_vocabulary","message":"Value 'Upper Midwest' for facet 'geography' is not in the controlled vocabulary."}]},"total":{"value":22,"relation":"eq"},"page":2,"page_size":20,"self":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/api/v1/search?geography=Upper+Midwest&page=2","stability":"beta","ai_marking":{"digital_source_type":{"uri":"http://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/digitalsourcetype/trainedAlgorithmicMedia","name":"Created using Generative AI"},"notice":"Summary and key insights are generated using artificial intelligence."},"results":[{"id":"eesi-000105","url":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/document/eesi-000105","title":"Addressing Water Quality through Nutrient Management","publisher":{"name":"Environmental and Energy Study Institute","organization":"environmental-and-energy-study-institute"},"document_type":"fact sheet","language":"en","date_published":"2016-12-01","source_url":"https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-addressing-water-quality-through-nutrient-management","generator":"Climate Insights Directory","generated_fields":["summary","key_insights","climate_tags","geography_discussed","analysis_type"],"summary":{"text":"Agricultural runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus is a primary driver of water contamination and eutrophication in the U.S., particularly affecting the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. While the Clean Water Act does not regulate water leaving farmers' fields, various state-level initiatives and federal programs, such as the USDA's Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), promote voluntary best management practices to reduce nutrient loading. Climate change is expected to worsen these issues by increasing the frequency of extreme weather events that trigger higher runoff.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"eesi-000105#summary","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},"key_insights":[{"text":"Agricultural nonpoint source pollution is a leading cause of water contamination, with nitrogen and phosphorus runoff driving eutrophication and hypoxic zones. In the Gulf of Mexico, agricultural nonpoint source pollution is responsible for 60 percent of nitrogen loads and 49 percent of phosphorous loads.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"eesi-000105#insight-1","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Nutrient runoff has caused severe water quality crises, including a 2014 harmful algal bloom in Toledo, Ohio, that left 400,000 people without safe drinking water for three days. In Lake Erie, nonpoint nutrient sources from agriculture account for 71 percent of the lake's nutrient loading.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"eesi-000105#insight-2","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico significantly exceeds targets; in 2015, it was over 930 square miles larger than the five-year average of 5,543 square miles and three times larger than the Hypoxia Task Force’s target of 1,991 square miles.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"eesi-000105#insight-3","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Climate change is projected to exacerbate water quality problems by increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as heavy rains, which lead to increased nutrient runoff.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"eesi-000105#insight-4","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The USDA's Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, uses cross-sectoral partnerships to implement best management practices. The USDA plans to invest up to $1.2 billion, with an expected total of $2.4 billion including partner funds through 2018.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"eesi-000105#insight-5","date_modified":"2026-10-23"}],"climate_tags":["water quality","climate change"],"geography_discussed":["Upper Midwest","Mississippi River drainage basin","Gulf of Mexico","Great Lakes","Iowa","Ohio","Michigan","Toledo"],"frame_perspective":[],"analysis_type":["policy review","environmental assessment"]},{"id":"eesi-000492","url":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/document/eesi-000492","title":"Addressing Water Quality through Nutrient Management","publisher":{"name":"Environmental and Energy Study Institute","organization":"environmental-and-energy-study-institute"},"document_type":"fact sheet","language":"en","date_published":"2016-11","source_url":"https://www.eesi.org/files/FactSheet_NutrientManagement_11.2016.pdf","generator":"Climate Insights Directory","generated_fields":["summary","key_insights","climate_tags","geography_discussed","analysis_type"],"summary":{"text":"Agricultural runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus is a primary driver of water contamination, leading to eutrophication and hypoxic zones in the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes. Climate change is expected to worsen this by increasing the frequency of heavy rains and subsequent nutrient runoff. While the Clean Water Act does not regulate water leaving farmers' fields, various state-level voluntary and mandatory programs, alongside the federal Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), aim to reduce nutrient loading through best management practices like cover crops and no-till operations.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"eesi-000492#summary","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},"key_insights":[{"text":"Agricultural pollution is the primary source of contamination in surveyed rivers and lakes, with nutrient runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus causing eutrophication and the creation of hypoxic zones where oxygen levels fall below 2 milligrams per liter, making them unable to sustain most animal life.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"eesi-000492#insight-1","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"In the Great Lakes, agricultural nonpoint nutrient sources on the western side of Lake Erie account for 71 percent of the lake's nutrient loading, contributing to harmful algal blooms such as the August 2014 event that left 400,000 people in Toledo, Ohio, without safe drinking water for three days.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"eesi-000492#insight-2","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Agricultural nonpoint source pollution is responsible for 60 percent of nitrogen loads and 49 percent of phosphorous loads delivered to the Gulf of Mexico. The resulting hypoxic zone annually covers an area roughly the size of Connecticut.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"eesi-000492#insight-3","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Climate change is projected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as heavy rains, which will increase nutrient runoff and further impair water quality.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"eesi-000492#insight-4","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The USDA's Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, aims to invest up to $1.2 billion with an expected total of $2.4 billion including partner funds through 2018 to promote cross-sectoral partnerships for soil and water restoration.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"eesi-000492#insight-5","date_modified":"2026-10-23"}],"climate_tags":["water quality","climate change","extreme weather event"],"geography_discussed":["Great Lakes","Gulf of Mexico","Iowa","Ohio","Michigan","Toledo"],"frame_perspective":[],"analysis_type":["case study","policy review"]}]}