1 Water Quality Overview

In order to discuss water quality and its regulations, a central understanding must be established on what water is composed of and its value to our environment.

Water Description and Characteristics

What is water? Water is a substance that lacks taste, odor, and color. Regardless of its bland exterior, water is an abundant and essential substance for life on earth. Water is known to be the origin of the world’s first organisms, and all organisms depend on it for survival (Zumdahl, 2024). Remember, humans are primarily composed of water, and plants rely on rain and water for growth. These are two of many examples where organisms rely on water for life. However, organisms can accept water as a nutrient in multiple forms: gas, liquid, or solid. This is due to the chemical structure of a water molecule. A water molecule is composed of two hydrogen atoms, linked to one oxygen atom. Due to the electronegativity difference between these two atom types, a strong polarity is created that allows water to exist and interact in these different forms. The polarity of water contributes to its unique qualities and behaviors when subjected to varying temperatures and pressures.

These unique behaviors of water are characterized through a continuous process named the Hydrologic Cycle, also known as the water cycle. This is the cycle by which water is transferred over the earth, and is converted between its different forms, as mentioned earlier.

Caption: The diagram above demonstrates the overall path of water molecules as it cycles through the earth at varying temperatures and pressures (Singh, 2021).

Water from the oceans or other large bodies can be transported via evaporation (liquid to gas), into the atmosphere. In the atmosphere, water exists as clouds, and as it condenses, can reform its liquid state to produce rain. This nourishes our bodies of water to contribute to plant and animal life. This is an important process because water is constantly being recycled and reused by humans, so it is crucial to acknowledge our contributions and negative impacts we may have on this cycle and the quality of water within it (The Water Cycle, 2024).

The following video describes the steps of the hydrologic cycle in more descriptive detail. This video was published by the National Science Foundation News (Water Cycle, 2013).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al-do-HGuIk

There are two types of water that are commonly discussed: heavy water and hard water. These vary based on their atomic structure. As mentioned earlier, water is a molecule that consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. There are two isotopes that exist of hydrogen, which vary in number of neutrons and molecular weight. One of these isotopes is named deuterium, which forms deuterium oxide (D2O) when combined with oxygen. Deuterium oxide is also called heavy water due to its increased mass. Hard water is another type of water that is commonly described when describing water quality. Hard water is described as water that contains a higher concentration of dissolved minerals due to the flow of water against certain sediments or other mineral producing materials.

Water Usage

Discussing the water cycle is important because water is constantly being used by humans, and it’s vital to acknowledge what negative contributions humans may have on this cycle and the water quality of the water circulating through it. In this section we will be discussing human water usage on a global and national level.

Of all of the water on the earth, only 3% of it is freshwater. An even smaller percentage of that is readily available for human use. However, every year humans use 4.3 trillion cubic meters of freshwater. To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to humans using over 50 olympic swimming pools every second or 4 glasses of water every minute. In other words, humans are using a lot of freshwater (“Are We Running Out of Water, 2024).

What are humans using this water on? 70% of water is being used for agricultural use, 20% is used for industrial use, and 10% is used for domestic or household use. In other words, most of the water humans use comes from mass usage of water, rather than individual use of water. The top consuming agricultural products are chocolate, coffee beans, beef, sheep & goat meat, pig meat, cereals, fruit, and vegetables. The top consuming consumer products are cars, leather shoes, smart phones, cotton bed sheets, jeans, and cotton T-shirts.

Water Quality

Since humans use so much water, it’s important to acknowledge what the quality of the water being used looks like. Water quality is a general way to describe the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of drinking water. These conditions are generally characterized and measured by levels of bacteria, salinity, turbidity, and toxins present in the water. These fall under the category of contaminants, which will be discussed later. Salinity refers to the amount of salt in the water. Turbidity refers to the amount of material suspended in the water. And the toxin concentration is in regards to toxins such as pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, or other contaminants (Sanctuary, 2023).

Interestingly, the United States has one of the safest water suppliers in the world, due to the fact that a majority of tap water in America comes from community water systems. These community water systems are heavily standardized and regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which will be discussed more in depth in a later section. An interesting note is that private wells are not regulated by the EPA, and falls under the responsibility of the owner. These private wells contribute to water supply for over 15 million homes. Lastly, single-use water bottles are not regulated by the EPA either. Since they are included in the category of food products, they are regulated and standardized by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

Water Contaminants

What are the contributors to a change in water quality? Water contaminants are defined as any substance in drinking water, whether it be physical, chemical, biological, and/or radiological. Realistically, all water contains a small amount of contaminants. However, some contaminants can be harmful if ingested in certain amounts and in certain ways. Something to make clear is that contaminants are not equivalent to health risk. But contaminants are things to be researched and regulated to prevent public health complications

As mentioned earlier, there are a few categories of contaminants to discuss. The first are physical contaminants. Physical contaminants are substances that change the physical appearance or property of the water. Examples of physical contaminants include sediment or organic material suspended in the water. These can have natural origin, like the rock beneath lakes, rivers, and streams from soil erosion. Next, are chemical contaminants. Chemical contaminants are chemicals or compounds that can have natural or synthetic origin. Examples of chemical contaminants include, but are not limited to, nitrogen, bleach, salts, pesticides, metals, toxins from bacteria, and drugs. Biological contaminants are microbiological organisms present in the water. Common examples of these are bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and parasites. Lastly, radiological contaminants are contaminants with unbalanced proton or neutron number, thus they are unstable. Unstable elements may emit/release radiation, which is a form of a contaminant. Examples of radiological elements include, but are not limited to are cesium, plutonium, and uranium (Types of Drinking Water Contaminants, 2023).

Where do the contaminants come from? Typically when discussing water contaminants, improperly maintained pipes come to mind. However, water contaminants can be produced naturally and by human use. There are four main categories of water contaminant sources. Industry and agriculture is the first category. This category includes organic solvents, petroleum products (such as gasoline, oil, etc), and heavy metals. Heavy metals can come from disposal sites or other facilities that are related to the industry, and the metals can then migrate into aquifers. Organic solvents include pesticides and fertilizers, which are common in the midwest due to farming practices. Pesticides and fertilizers can be carriers into bodies of water or migrate into aquifers. Rainfall or snowmelt can contribute to the transport of these solvents into our water systems. The second main source of contaminants in human and animal waste. Human waste is typically stored in sewage or septic systems. Human and animal sewage can contain harmful pathogens or microbes. This sewage and its associated microbes can be carried into water systems. Examples of this type of contaminant source include, but are not limited to, cryptosporidium, giardia, and E.coli. The third main source of contaminants are via treatment and distribution of water or other products. While it is true that the purpose of water treatment is to remove contaminants from the water, certain treatments can produce byproducts that are left behind and less harmful than the contaminant it is trying to remove. For example, chlorine is a treatment that is commonly used, and will be discussed later, that produces trihalomethanes as a byproduct. Trihalomethanes may be harmful by themselves if concentrated at high enough amounts. An additional way water can be contaminated is via the distribution methods of water. If the piping system by which water flows through has a breach, corrosion, or leakage, various chemicals can contaminate the water that is flowing through the pipes. This is especially a common concern with pipes made of lead or copper. To avoid corrosion of these metals into the water, anticorrosives can be added to the water flowing through the pipes. Lastly, contaminants can come from natural sources. There can be high levels of certain contaminants, like arsenic for example, present in the ground below a source of water. As groundwater travels through the ground, it can pick up these chemicals. These chemicals include naturally occurring arsenic, other heavy metals, or radionuclides.

There are multiple contaminant types and associated rules as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Chemical contaminants include regulations regarding arsenic, lead, copper, radionuclides, and other chemical contaminants. Microbial contaminants is the second category of contaminants with associated regulations. Unregulated contaminants are also regulated over time but differently than the main chemicals. The EPA uses the unregulated contaminant monitoring program to collect data over time for these contaminants. There are certain levels of certain contaminants that can be present in the water and still protect human health. These contaminants are suspected to potentially be present in the drinking water, but standards are not set yet under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Every five years, the EPA reviews the list of contaminants, where the list is subject to change. Both the EPA and SDWA will be discussed further in depth in the subchapter “Regulation of Water” (Drinking Water Regulations, 2024).

Negative Effects of Poor Water Quality

As mentioned earlier, there are certain levels of contaminants that can be unsafe to humans. An unsafe level of contaminants in drinking water can cause adverse health effects. There are multiple factors that can influence whether or not a specific contaminant will have an adverse health effect. These factors include the type of contaminant, its concentration in the drinking water, the susceptibility of the individual, the amount of water the individual consumes, and the duration of the individual’s exposure to the contaminant. The two types of contaminants are chemical and microbial.

What are the health effects of exposure to these contaminants? If one is exposed to chemical contaminants through their drinking water, they may experience a range of short-term and/or long-term effects. High dose exposure to chemicals can lead to symptoms such as severe skin discoloration, organ system damage, developmental, and reproductive effects. However, if one is exposed to chemicals at a low dose over time, they may suffer longer, more painful conditions such as chronic illness or cancer. This is a field actively being studied, so the effects of some contaminants are not well understood yet.

If one is exposed to water with microbes, they are susceptible to many diseases. The most life-threatening diseases are typhoid fever and cholera. Both of these diseases are very rare in the United States today. The most common symptom illnesses worldwide include stomach pain, diarrhea, headache, fever, vomiting, and kidney fever. These are typically caused by viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Hepatitis is another severe illness that is present worldwide, however its presence in the United States is still relatively low. Hepatitis in the United States typically targets people with weakened immune systems, like children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals (Drinking-Water, 2023).

From a public health perspective, there are socioeconomic effects of poor water quality that are often left out of the conversation. In 2023, a research team determined that social factors such as low population density, high housing vacancy, disability, and race can have a stronger influence than median household income on how likely a community’s water supply will have violations in their water quality. Why is this important? Much of the state and federal funding agencies use median household income as the main factor when deciding the funding distribution for underprivileged communities. These other factors should be taken into account, so that the disadvantaged communities can get the equity and funding that is appropriate and accurate. Many of the areas that face water quality challenges such as arsenic poisoning are rural and deindustrialized areas. These water systems lack the abilities (financial, managerial, or technical) and opportunities to address their water quality issues, which is why this perspective of inequity needs to be addressed (Kortsha, 2023).

In 2022, six billion accessed from safe and managed sources, in other words, the water sources were clean of contaminants. What about the remaining 2.2 billion people?

Basic service of water is defined as a source that is located and can be accessed roundtrip thirty minutes. 1.5 billion people live in this condition. 292 million people live with limited service. Limited service is defined as a source that requires longer than 30 minutes for the water to be collected roundtrip. 296 million people sourced their water from unprotected bodies of water such as wells or springs. The last 115 million people collected water from the surface of lakes, ponds, rivers, or streams that were untreated. As mentioned earlier, exposure to these types of water sources can be linked to the transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio. Diarrhea in the United States is not deadly, but worldwide, diarrhea contributes to one million deaths per year. This is due to unsafe drinking water conditions and sanitation. In 2021, 251.4 million people required treatment for schistosomiasis, a disease caused by parasitic worms in unsafe water. Why do other places in the world have higher death rates than the United States rates? This is due to socioeconomic condition variability worldwide. When someone has improved water quality and/or access to clean water, it decreases the time and physical demand that water collecting puts on humans, and allows people to be more productive in other ways. In turn, this increases safety, decreases disorders related to physical injuries or overuse, decreases medical costs and emergency care (Drinking-Water, 2023). Thus having equitable access to water is more economically productive for people, and should be a basic right for humans.

Regulation of Water

It is clear that water quality and accessibility is crucial for human survival. How does this water get regulated? A majority of water in the United States originates from community water systems. Community water systems are the systems that treat, store and distribute water for regional areas. These systems are standardized on a federal level via the SDWA which is run via the EPA. This is a federal law, but many states enforce their own additional stricter regulations regarding water quality, scheduling, and testing. Additionally, it’s important to note that private wells are not regulated by the EPA. The owners of the associated private wells are responsible for the standards and treatment of their own wells. With private wells, they must be tested once a year for any issues with cleanliness and pathogen exposure for local concern. Natural events such as flooding and erosion can raise concern with private wells as it can introduce pathogens and chemicals into the wells. If the water is contaminated in a private well, the health department can be contacted for guidance on how to safely treat the water based on its condition.

The SDWA stands for the Safe Drinking Water Act. This act was passed in 1974 and its purpose was to protect the drinking water in the United States. Under SDWA, the Environmental Protection Agency sets standards and monitors the water systems across the country. Local authorities and water suppliers are expected to enforce and abide by these guidelines. These guidelines are based on maximum contaminant levels, which are the enforceable highest level of a contaminant that can be present in the drinking water. An interesting fact is that the SDWA does not apply to bottled water. Bottled water is regulated by the US Food & Drug Administration instead, which is less regulated (Drinking Water, 2023). This will be discussed more in depth in the following chapter.

To summarize, regulation follows 4 general steps. First is the source. Most public water systems use surface water as the source of their drinking water such as rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Some public water systems use ground water sources such as aquifers to access drinking water. Secondly, the water is treated. The public water systems treat water as per SDWA and EPA MCL standards. There are multiple methods to attain this, which will be discussed later. Third, water is stored and distributed through water mains via pipes. The last step is accountable via a system referred to as confidence consumer reports. The following section will discuss this system more in detail (How Does Your Water System Work, 2024).

Testing and Cleaning Water

How is the water tested and cleaned? The way that each community water system chooses to test their water can vary, but they all must adhere to the standards set by the EPA. Additionally, every water supplier must provide a public annual report to help ensure safety. These reports are called consumer confidence reports, and include information regarding water source, quality, contaminants, and protective measures that consumers can take. These reports can be provided by mail or online. An important note is that consumers may not directly receive their CCR if they don’t pay their water bill directly. However, every consumer has a right to access this report, which is why it can be found online year round (Consumer Confidence Reports, 2023).

Caption: An image of the 2022 Consumer Confidence Report Water Quality table for Iowa City’s Water system is shown above. This image displays the contaminant information, which is one part of the report.

The image above shows the Consumer Confidence Report for Iowa City in 2022. Every July, a new CCR is published and accessible to consumers. In order to read and understand the CCR report, the structure of the report and key vocab will be defined below (2022 WATER QUALITY REPORT, 2022).

Section I: introduction, precaution, and sources. This section includes data, language accessibility, precautions to be taken, and the source of the water for that system.

Section II: water assessment, monitoring, and contaminants. This section assesses the source and availability of the water and ways in which the public/consumers can get involved. This section also explains the process of monitoring and data violations for the specific water system.

Section III: water quality table. This last section has an easy to digest table that lists out the main contaminants presence and violations in the water for that area/system.

Section IV; action levels, violation, and exceedances. If there are any violations, this section of the report will tell consumers what violations there are, and how it impacts their water usage.

Key Terminology within the Water Quality Table (Consumer Confidence Reports, 2023)

• Contaminants: This refers to any substance found in the drinking water. These substances can be good or harmful for human and public health depending on various previously mentioned factors.
• MCLG: If the level of contamination is below MCLG, there is no known or expected risk to health. In other words, this refers to the goal that EPA wants for the level of contaminants present in water. This is not enforceable.
• MCL: The highest level of contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. Levels above MCL violate EPA Standards and can be enforced by the EPA.
• TT: Stands for treatment technique, which is the required process to reduce level of contaminant in drinking water.
• MRDL: The highest level of disinfectant allowed in your drinking water. Stands for maximum residual disinfectant level. A certain amount of disinfectant has been shown to help control germs in drinking water.
• Amount detected: The amount of contaminants that exist in the water source.
• Range detected: The range refers to the levels at which contaminants were detected in water (low to high). The range exists due to changing levels throughout the year.
• Sample date: The date when the sample from the system was collected.
• Violation: This indicates that the contaminant level has exceeded the maximum level and is harmful to humans.
• Typical source: The sources of contaminants.

What did they find in Iowa City’s Water in 2022? Based on the report, the main takeaways is that the Iowa city treatment plant draws water from various wells in the Iowa River aquifer. Iowa City performs 200 water quality tests daily. They use lime softening and carbon filtration as their main methods of water treatment. Lastly, in terms of quality, they had no violations, but there will still a significant presence of lead, copper, sodium, nitrate, and fluoride.

What happens if the EPA finds an issue in the water quality? Depending on the severity of the contamination and issue, the city and water system will publish one of three advisory warnings in the CCR. These warnings, from least severe to most severe, include the boil water advisory, do not drink advisory, and do not use advisory. In a boil water advisory, they advise to use boiled water or bottled water for consumption related activities. In this case, tap water is safe to use for bathing, washing hands, and laundry. In the do not drink advisory, it is advised to use bottled water or another source for all consumption related activities, similar to the last advisory. However, the tap water limitations vary based on the severity and will be specified. Lastly, the do not use advisory advises people to not use tap water for any purpose or activity. Any contact with water is dangerous. This is the most severe advisory (Drinking Water Advisories, 2020).

How is water treated and cleaned? There are six general local ways that water can be treated for use (Choosing Home Water Filter). Pasteurization is the first method. Pasteurization is also commonly known as the process of boiling the water. This process kills or inactivates most pathogens by using heat to denature proteins. This removes viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and other pathogens. The next process is chemical disinfection. The most common chemical used to treat water is chlorine. Chlorination is another method that kills most harmful pathogens like parasites, bacteria, and viruses. As mentioned earlier, this process can produce trihalomethanes as a byproduct, and needs to be closely monitored due to this. Activated Carbon filter is another method used to absorb organic contaminants, which can eliminate foul tastes and odors present in the water. This process also removes metals such as lead and copper, however it does remove nitrates, bacteria, or dissolved minerals. In other words, it does not affect the hardness of water. This type of filtration is commonly used in Brita water filters, which will be discussed in the next section. The next type of filtration can remove water hardness, and is known as ion exchange. This removes minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and fluoride. Some ion exchange filters can also remove radium and barium. Reverse osmosis is the next filtration method. This is a very effective process, and can even be used to filter salt water, however it is also very expensive and slow. It removes nitrates, sodium, inorganic compounds, and organic compounds. Thus, it removes foul taste, odor, and many contaminants. The last process is also effective but slow. Distillation is a process that can remove nitrates, bacteria, sodium, hardness, dissolved solids, heavy metals, organic compounds, and some radionuclides. However, a combination of a few of these treatment methods are commonly used for public water systems.

Public water systems use a combination of water treatment methods in order to supply water of good quality to people in the United States. There are four main steps to the treatment of public water.

Caption: The image above displays the general water treatment process for public water systems in the United States (The 7 Steps to Purify Water, 2024).

The first step in this process is called coagulation. Chemicals are added to the water than allow particles present in the water to bind with each other and form larger particles. Common chemicals used for this step are salts, aluminum, and iron. The second step is flocculation. This involves a gentle stir of the water that allows those large particles to form even larger heavier particles, which are called flocs. This often involves the addition of more treatment chemicals. The third step is called sedimentation. This process allows the solids to separate from the water (due to density difference). The flocs settle to the bottom. The next step, filtration, allows these flocs to filter out of the water, leaving behind clean water free of particles and debris. These filters vary in pore size to remove different particles and pathogens. Sand, gravel, and charcoal are all substances that can be used for filtration. Lastly, disinfection involves the addition of chemicals, such as chlorine, to disinfect and remove the majority of pathogens that were not filtered out (The 7 Steps to Purify Water, 2024).

Individual Beliefs about Water Quality

In this chapter, we briefly discussed topics such as water quality and treatment methods such as bottled water usage or Brita carbon filters. What do the people of the midwest believe about their water quality?

Luke Farmer, a student at the University of Iowa said, “I am not particularly picky with my water. Most of my water comes from my Brita, but it can be inconvenient to fill up at times. Because of this, I also use tap water frequently. I do have a filter in my shower, because I think the running water from Iowa City is bad for my skin, and causes breakouts on my skin.” (Farmer, 2024)

Sujatha Kedilaya, a resident of Bettendorf, Iowa agrees with Luke Farmer. She does not trust the water, but she is more wary of its effects on her body, so she uses a different method to ensure the safety of her water. “I live a very healthy lifestyle. I eat and drink healthy and clean. I don’t trust the water here in the Quad Cities, and I believe the chemicals in it gave me my stomach cancer a few years back. This city is known for their poor water quality, so now I only drink water out of packaged water bottles. I don’t use tap water unless it’s been boiled first.” (Kedilaya, 2024).

In the next chapter, the effectiveness of these two methods (and others) will be compared against each other to determine which individual is the most protected, and if there any methods that can be debunked. (PK)