City of Decorah's water supply passes all tests

John e-mails Mr. Answer Person: "Water is our lifeline and mostly we take it for granted.  Probably we worry more about gasoline.  The question is:  Where does Decorah get its water and what quality(s) does it posses?"

Mr. Answer Person knows some people believe these questions are made up, but John is a real reader and this is a real question.  It's just a very timely question because the City of Decorah has just issued its 2012 Water Quality Report.

First let's tell John that Decorah's water comes from the Middle Ordovician aquifer, which everyone knows consists of the Galena, Decorah and St. Peter strata!

As far as the quality of the water is concerned, Decorah scores a perfect 10 out of 10 for being in compliance with water standards.  There's no problems with copper or chlorine or sodium or fluoride, for instance.

The only measure of water quality that city officials are monitoring somewhat closely is nitrate levels, which are most affected by runoff from farm fertilizers.  Decorah's water tested at 6.4 parts per million, with 10 being the allowable limit.  City officials continue to work with other groups that are trying to reduce farm runoff in the Upper Iowa River Basin, so let's hope the next reading shows improvement.