Today, we begin a week-long series on pollution in the heartland. Storm water runoff from farm fields contaminates the lakes that many cities use for drinking water. But rather than making farmers reduce the pollution, the government requires water utilities to clean it up and pass the cost on to their customers. In the first part of our series, the GLRC's Lester Graham reports on efforts some communities have made to stop the pollution at the source:

Today, we continue our series on pollution in the heartland. Farm pollution is one of the biggest contamination problems in the country. But unlike other industries, there are very few pollution restrictions on agriculture. In the second story of our week-long series, the GLRC's Lester Graham reports when cities clean up pollution from pesticides, the cost ends up on their citizens' water bills:

Today, we continue our series on pollution in the heartland. There are fewer farmers raising pigs, cows and chickens these days. But the amount of meat being produced in the U.S. continues to increase. So livestock farms haven't exactly disappeared. They've just gotten bigger. In the third part of our week-long series, the GLRC's Mark Brush reports… these big operations have kept food costs down, but those cheap prices come with consequences:

Today, we continue our series on pollution in the heartland. Dairy farms are getting bigger. Many keep thousands of cows in buildings the size of several football fields. These big dairy operations can make a lot of milk. That translates into cheaper prices at the grocery store. But some worry these large farms are polluting the land around them. In the fourth story of our week-long series, the GLRC's Mark Brush visits a big Midwestern dairy farm:

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: