Water Quality - Muscatine Power & Water

Our water, originating in the Muscatine Island Aquifer, is of such high quality that the only treatments required are small additions of chlorine, flouride and phosphate.

Facts on Water Filters

Our water originates in the Muscatine Island Aquifer. It is an excellent source of high quality water located along the west bank of the Mississippi River flood plain. It covers about 50 square miles in Muscatine and Louisa Counties. The wide segment of land consists primarily of sand and gravel with areas of silt and clay. It ranges from about 40 to 140 feet thick.

The water obtained is of such high quality that the only treatments required are small additions of chlorine, fluoride and phosphate. Chlorine assures biological safety, fluoride assists in children’s dental development, and phosphate stabilizes the minerals found in water.

We are diligent about water testing. Muscatine’s water surpasses all state and federal regulations all the time. About sixty water quality tests are completed each day in our laboratories. Chemical and physical water tests are conducted in a controlled environment using precision instruments that measure or detect contaminants at very low levels. Samples are tested for contaminants including bacteria, organic and inorganic compounds, lead and copper and total trihalomethanes (contaminants that develop during the chlorination of drinking water.) We also use private labs to complete other required testing.

MP&W 2009 Water Consumer Confidence Report
Substance	Violation Yes/No	Highest Level Allowed (MCL)	Highest Detected Level	Utility Range	EPA MCLG (EPA Goal)	Sources of Contaminant
INORGANIC CHEMICALS
Arsenic (10/04) (ppb)	No	10	2	N/A	N/A	Erosion of natural deposits and metal refineries; (A).
Barium (10/04) (ppm)	No	2	0.09	0.06-0.09	2	Discharge of drilling wastes; discharge of metal refineries; discharge of natural deposits.
Fluoride (2009) (ppm)	No	4	1.03	0.49-1.03	4	Additive to promote strong teeth; discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories; (A).
Nitrate (as N) (2009) (ppm)	No	10	8.7	0.4-8.7	10	Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, sewage; (A).
Sodium (1/08)	No	N/A	15	6-15	N/A	Erosion of natural deposits.
ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS
Total Trihalomethane (TTHM) (9/09)	No	80	31	0-31	N/A	By-product of drinking water disinfection.
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) (9/09)	No	60	6	0-6	N/A	By-product of drinking water disinfection.
SYNTHETIC ORGANIC CHEMICALS
Di (2-ethylhexy) phthalate (11/08) (ppb)	No	6	10	.0006-10	N/A	Discharge from rubber & chemical factories.
Di (2-ethylhexyl) adipate (11/08) (ppb)	No	400	1.11	.0006-1.1	N/A	Discharge from chemical factories.
Chlorine (mg/L)	No	4 MRDL	0.8 RAA	0.4-1.4	4 MRDLG	Water additive to control microbes
COPPER & LEAD (regulated at customer tap)
Substance	Violation Yes/No	Action Level	Maximum 90% Detection	Utility Samples	EPA MCLG (EPA Goal)	Sources of Contaminant
Copper (9/07) (ppm)	No	1.3	1	ND-1.2	1.3	Corrosion of home plumbing; (A).
Lead (9/07) (ppb)	No	15	4	ND-14	15	Corrosion of home plumbing; (A).

(A) = Erosion of natural deposits.
Note: The EPA requires monitoring of over 80 drinking water contaminants. Those listed above are only contaminants detected in your drinking water. For a complete list, contact Muscatine Power & Water.

Quality Report Definitions

Action Level – The concentration of a contaminant that, if exceeded, triggers a treatment or other requirement that a water system must follow.
Inorganic Chemicals – Chemical substances of mineral origin.
Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) – The highest level of a contaminant allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology.
Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) – The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health.
Microbiological Contaminants – Very small organisms, such as bacteria, algae, plankton, and fungi.
N/A – Not applicable.
N/D – Not detected at testing limit.
NTU – Nephelometric Turbidity Units.
Organic Contaminants – Naturally occurring or synthetic substances containing mainly carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. This includes more pesticides and industrial chemicals.
PCi/l – Pico curies per liter.
ppb – Parts of contaminant per billion parts of water. One part per billion (ppb) is equivalent to a single penny in ten million dollars.
ppm – Parts of contaminant per million parts of water. One part per million (ppm) is equivalent to a single penny in ten thousand dollars.
mg/l – micrograms per liter (parts of contaminant per billion parts water). One part per billion (ppb) is equivalent to a single penny in ten thousand dollars.
µg/l – milligrams per liter (parts of contaminant per million parts of water). One part per million (ppm) is equivalent to a single penny in ten thousand dollars.
Radionuclides – Contaminants giving off ionizing radiation.
TOC – Total organic carbon in untreated water.
Treatment Technique (TT) – A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.