Beacon Staff
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has discovered so-called “forever chemicals” that are polluting the Mississippi River and showing up in trace amounts in Burlington’s drinking water.
Drinking water drawn from the Mississippi River by three Iowa cities – Burlington, Davenport, and Keokuk – contains trace amounts of toxic perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which will persist indefinitely in the environment.
The test results were released this week by the Iowa DNR as part of the department’s survey of dozens of community water supplies across the state.
The chemicals are diluted enough by the river to not be dangerous for consumption. According to the tests, fewer than 10 parts per trillion of the substances were found, well below the current federal safety threshold of 70 parts per trillion.
Shane Johnson, general manager of Burlington Municipal Waterworks, said the substances didn’t show up in tests five years ago.
“It must be a tiny molecule to make it through our sand filters,” he said.
It was the first time DNR tests found the chemicals in notable concentrations in a major river. Johnson said the chemicals likely came from upriver – an assessment the DNR agrees with. Corey McCold, a supervisor of the DNR’s Water Supply Operations Section, said upstream industrial facilities and wastewater plants are likely contributors.
The drinking water is safe, Johnson noted. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that the vast majority of Americans have detectable amounts of PFAS in their blood. For now, Johnson said Burlington Municipal Waterworks will continue monitoring the situation.
“Nobody knows how to get rid of them (forever chemicals),” Johnson said.