The April 16, 2001 Des Moines Register published an article on the front page which dealt with a new study that links nitrates in drinking water to bladder cancer in women. We at the Oskaloosa Water Department would like to answer the question that most of you were asking yourself after having read that article. The study indicates that women who drank water with nitrate concentrations of 2.4 milligrams per liter or higher were nearly three times more likely to develop bladder cancer than women who consumed the lowest amount of nitrates, 0.36 milligrams per liter.

On April 17, 2001, a test of the Oskaloosa drinking water found the level of nitrates to be 0.9 milligrams per liter. This is certainly well below the 2.4 level and substantially below the maximum allowable limit of 10.0 milligram per liter which was established by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Concerns all along in the water works industry relative to nitrate concentrations in drinking water have centered around the possibility that drinking water with elevated levels of nitrates can adversely affect the blood's ability to carry oxygen to the brain in infants, a condition known as methemoglobulinemia, blue baby syndrome.

You can be assured that Oskaloosa water is below the levels reported in the study and below the EPA allowable limits. We continue to test Oskaloosa water for nitrates and will communicate any new information here. If you have further questions, please contact us.

This page last updated 07/23/2002