PART 5: RESTORING STREAMS IN THE HEARTLAND
From: The Environment Report
Series: Pollution in the Heartland
Length: 04:45
Fifth in a 5-part series - The GLRC's Rebecca Williams takes us to a river that farmers and neighbors are working to restore. Rivers and streams were straightened to move water off the land more quickly. It made for better farm fields, but it also made for poorer water quality. In Williams' report she outlines the challenges of putting the "wiggles" back in a stream.
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Related Pieces
Piece Description
Fifth in a 5-part series - The GLRC's Rebecca Williams takes us to a river that farmers and neighbors are working to restore. Rivers and streams were straightened to move water off the land more quickly. It made for better farm fields, but it also made for poorer water quality. In Williams' report she outlines the challenges of putting the "wiggles" back in a stream.
Broadcast History
Offered to GLRC Stations August 2006
Transcript
RESTORING STREAMS IN THE HEARTLAND
Rebecca Williams
July 31, 2006
Today, we wrap up our series on pollution in the heartland. To farm in the nation's heartland, people first had to drain the water from the land. In a lot of places, that meant dredging rivers to get them to move along faster and carry water off the fields. But straight, fast rivers aren't healthy rivers. And the rushing water carries pesticides and fertilizers off of fields and deposits them downstream. But in some places, farmers are starting to repair rivers. The GLRC's Rebecca Williams has the final story in our week-long series:
From an airplane, the land below it looks like it was drawn in geometry class. Fields of corn and soybeans look almost like perfect squares. Rivers seem as straight as a ruler's edge.
When rivers have their way, they're unruly. They have lots of twists and bends, but people have str...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
Today, we wrap up our series on pollution in the heartland.
To farm in the nation's heartland, people first had to drain the water
from the land. In a lot of places, that meant dredging rivers to get
them to move along faster and carry water off the fields. But straight,
fast rivers aren't healthy rivers. And the rushing water carries pesticides and fertilizers off of fields and deposits them downstream. But in some places, farmers are starting to repair rivers. The G-L-R-C's Rebecca Williams has the final story in our week-long series:
CUT: WILLIAMS (4:45 "...I'M REBECCA WILLIAMS." incl. :10 snd fade)
HOST TAG: "To listen to the entire Pollution in the Heartland series,
you can visit G-L-R-C dot org."
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