The Flood Waters In Iowa Hold A Chemical Stew

As the flood waters start to recede in Iowa residents have more to worry about then just flooded houses. What is in the water and is it safe enough to even walk in?

Iowa is farm land. Those farms use can use use mighty strong chemicals to keep crops growing and animals healthy. Add those chemicals to the water and you have a contaminated mess. Add in the other by products of humans and animals to that chemical soup and you have water that isn't even safe to wade through. In Oakville, Iowa the flood waters have turned the town into a lake. One that reeks of pig feces and diesel fuel. The chairman of emergency management and homeland security in the area, LeRoy Lippert is warning folks to avoid the floodwater.

"If you drink this water and live, tell me about it. You have no idea. It is very, very wise to stay out of it. It's as dangerous as anything."

All the chemicals, sewage and animal waste floating around have made a perfect breeding ground for another possible medical disaster; mosquitoes. Millions are spawning in the acres of standing water ready to attack the victims of this flooded area. Some towns in Iowa are beginning the clean up process but others are still at risk of the cresting waters of the Mississippi River. They are expected to crest on Wednesday. The death toll stands at five now. In Cedar Rapids its a ghost town. The damage sustained by the flood has made it hazardous for people to return home even as the waters recede. Broken gas lines, sink holes and buildings that are no longer structurally sound require that the town remains without its residents for the time being. The unsafe water is having the people still in town line up to get a free tetanus shot on Sunday. Dead birds and fish sitting on the city's 1st Avenue Bridge are joined by drums with label warning "corrosive", propane tanks, fences and railroad ties.

"We don't typically see mass cases of disease or illness coming from floodwater, but under any circumstance like this, we want people to avoid it because we don't know what's in there."

Ken Sharp, environmental health director for the Iowa Department of Public Health,

Still Sharp does admit those waters have the potential to make for some sick people. It's iffy on how safe the water is in rural Iowa where the rivers overflow mixed with pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer. the best bet is to use bottled water for their needs. As people start to sort through their remaining belongings they have to face the fact that most things they owned before the flood are to damaged or too contaminated to keep.