Rock Island

Over the past year, similar to previous years, Rock Island's tap water met nearly all USEPA and Illinois state water quality standards. Rock Island continues to utilize Mississippi River water as its primary source for municipal supply.

The City of Rock Island implements comprehensive treatment protocols and conducts over 15,000 chemical and bacteriological tests annually to ensure residents receive high-quality water. In the United States, primary water sources (both tap and bottled) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and groundwater aquifers.

As water flows over land surfaces or percolates through soil, it can dissolve naturally-occurring minerals, sometimes including radioactive materials. These water bodies may also collect harmful contaminants resulting from animal or human activities.

Potential contaminants in source water include:

• Microbial contaminants such as viruses and bacteria from sewage treatment facilities, septic systems, agricultural operations, and wildlife
• Inorganic contaminants like salts and metals that occur naturally or come from urban runoff, industrial wastewater, oil/gas production, or farming
• Pesticides and herbicides from agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential usage
• Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile compounds from industrial processes, petroleum production, gas stations, urban runoff, and septic systems
• Radioactive contaminants that occur naturally or result from oil/gas production and mining activities

All municipal water, including bottled varieties, reasonably contains at least trace amounts of some contaminants. Their presence doesn't necessarily indicate a health risk. For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, contact the USEPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

USEPA regulations limit contaminant levels in public water systems to ensure safety. FDA rules establish similar limits for bottled water. Some individuals may be more vulnerable to certain contaminants, including immunocompromised persons (cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, HIV/AIDS patients, certain elderly individuals, and infants). These populations should seek advice from healthcare providers regarding water consumption.

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