Iowa City, Iowa

What is the Water Quality in Iowa City, Iowa?

Compared to other US cities, Iowa City water quality ranks in the middle range for contamination excluding Lead.

Most of their 19 contaminants have cancer-causing attributes.

• Chloroform is at very high levels: 49x health guidelines.
• Haloacetic acids (HAA5) are at extremely high levels: 82x health guidelines.
• Haloacetic acids (HAA9) are at extremely high levels: 307x health guidelines.
  • These are both byproducts of the chlorine treatment process most water supplies go through.

Let’s look closer at what’s in Iowa City water.

What’s in Iowa City water?

Here are the top 5 chemical compounds in Iowa City water and what health issues they can potentially cause:

1. Bromodichloromethane – Potential effect: Cancer
2. Chloroform – Potential effect: Cancer
3. Haloacetic acids – Potential effect: Cancer
4. Hexavalent Chromium – Potential effect: Cancer
5. Total trihalomethanes – Potential effect: Cancer

These are five of the 19 contaminants analyzed by the Environmental Working Group (ewg.org).

12 of these contaminants are rated as exceeding EWG Health Guidelines.

Does Iowa City water have Lead contamination?

Yes, Iowa City has lead in its water. The most recent Lead samples collected from 2015 through 2017 showed concentrations up to 12.0 parts per billion (ppb).

The legal limit for lead is 15 parts per billion. Being well-below this level is a good thing.

• Concentrations between 3.8 ppb and 15 ppb put a formula-fed baby at risk of elevated blood lead levels. Read more about the symptoms of Lead in water.

There is no safe level of lead for humans.

• The good news is that 99.99% of the lead can be removed.

See the What Can You Do? section below to learn how to filter out contaminants.

Where does Iowa City’s water come from?

Iowa City’s water comes from the Ralston Creek – Iowa River watershed.

All 6 EPA assessed water sources in the Ralston Creek – Iowa River watershed are in Impaired condition. These include:

• Iowa River – 2 sections
• Muddy Creek
• Ralson Creek
• Unnamed tributary to Muddy Creek
• Unnamed tributary to Ralston Creek

Ideally, a water source would be rated in Good condition.

Whether a water source is in Impaired or Good condition refers to the quality of these uses:

1. Drinking Water
2. Aquatic Life
3. Fish and Shellfish Consumption
4. Recreation

Learn more from How’s My Waterway

See below for what you can do to improve Iowa City’s water.

What Can You Do?

Information about water quality in Iowa City can be surprising.

But there are things you can do in your home to clean up your water.

To Remove Lead and Other Contaminants In Your Home:

There is one solution that beats Brita, PUR, and some whole house systems.

• It costs less per gallon.
• Needs fewer filter changes.
• And it doesn’t make your water taste weird.

• Use Berkey filters with activated carbon to filter out the majority of contaminants in your drinking water.
  • Berkey filters can also remove up to 99.99% of Lead in Iowa City water.
  • Brita can filter 11 contaminants and Lead depending on the filter.
  • Note: We may receive a commission if you decide to purchase filters through links on this page.
• To filter out 17 of the 19 contaminants in your whole house, consider a Reverse Osmosis water filtration system for your home.
  • These are more expensive than pitchers to purchase, but can be more effective.
  • They have the benefit of filtering out heavy hitters like:
    • Bromodichloromethane – health risks
    • Bromoform
    • Chloroform – health risks
    • Chromium (total)
    • Haloacetic acids – chlorination byproduct*
    • Hexavalent chromium
    • Molybdenum
    • Nitrate
    • Strontium
    • Total trihalomethanes – byproduct of chlorination*
    • Trichloroacetic acid

*Chlorination is an effective method of disinfecting/treating drinking water. You can then use a water filter to reduce the effects of chlorination byproducts to get the safest, cleanest water possible.

In Your Community:

Contact your local government officials and put pressure on them to invest in cleaner waterways and upgraded city water filtration and treatment.

Go to: https://www.icgov.org/city-government to find contact information for your local officials.

Water Quality in Other Iowa Cities

Iowa Water Quality Page