Ask Mr. Answer Person: "Do I need to use a water filter in Decorah?"

(Kim asks: "Mr. Answer Person: Do I need a water filter in Decorah?"):

Mr. Answer Person says: "Most of the people in the Decorah area who have water filters live in the country and put a filter on their faucet because they have an issue with the taste of their well water.

In the City of Decorah, all water is treated by the municipal water plant before it heads out to your faucet.  Not only that, but the EPA requires regular testing of the water to make sure it meets federal standards. 

We report each year on the results of the "Consumer Confidence Survey" by the Decorah Water Department—and the story is always the same: city water meets all the EPA standards by good margins. 

Sporadically there's news coverage questioning whether these EPA standards ought to be expanded or updated, but the EPA believes its present standards are appropriate.

So the short answer to your question is, "No, you don't need a water filter in Decorah."  But we also checked with Decorah Water Superintendent Todd Ihde and he gave us a slightly surprising answer.  His advice is that if you're worried about water quality, putting a filter on your faucet can give you peace of mind--and that might be worth it.  Of course, then you'll have to figure out what water contents you'll want to filter.  You will want to buy a filter that captures the right contaminants—and how will you pick which ones to worry about?  Then you'll need to replace filters on a regular basis.

Mr. Answer Person doesn't have a filter on the faucets at his home, however.  He believes that if you want to worry about something, just turn on the national news and you'll have lots of choices! 

City of Decorah drinking water meets all the EPA standards and that's good enough for me—although you're welcome to take a different course.