As fertilizer pollutes tap water in small towns, rural Kansans pay the price

For towns with only a few hundred residents, keeping tap water clean and safe can pose a crippling expense. The predicament is likely to become more common in western Kansas as farm chemicals seep into dwindling water supplies.
HAVILAND, Kansas — Fifteen years ago, Robert Ellis got a letter he never wanted.

Haviland’s drinking water had failed a state safety test. It had more nitrate than federal limits allow. And as mayor of this small town east of Dodge City, it was his job to help the town figure out what to do.

Building a new water treatment plant would cost millions, so the town started installing water filters one home at a time. That penciled out far cheaper than one central plant.

But state regulators told them no. Those in-home filters wouldn’t cut it.