University of Iowa warning of contaminant in water system

IOWA CITY — The University of Iowa notified its campus on Thursday that its water system has violated a drinking water standard — although it adds “this is not an emergency.”

“As our customers, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we are doing to correct this situation,” a notification to the campus reads.

The specific issue relates to trihalomethanes, a group of four chemicals formed when chlorine or other disinfectants used to control contaminants in drinking water react with naturally-occurring matter in water, according to national water research.

According to the UI notice, the campus routinely monitors for contaminants, and results on Feb. 1 showed the system exceeded the .08 standard for trihalomethanes. The average level of total trihalomethanes in the UI system over the last year was .081 to .110, according to the notice.

Read more: http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/higher-education/university-of-iowa-warning-of-contaminant-in-water-system-20170209