The Five Most Common Contaminants In Your Minnesota Water Supply

Have you ever wondered what is truly in your Minnesota water? Water Quality can have a tremendous impact on the overall health of your family and your home. That’s why our MSP team is COMMITTED to helping you better understand what is contaminating your water supply, so you can begin to take the necessary steps to achieve CLEAN, HEALTHY WATER! Continue reading to learn more about the EWG’s Water Database results of local water contaminants that were found in Minnesota in amounts above health guidelines.

Trihalomethanes are cancer-causing contaminants that form during water treatment with chlorine and other disinfectants. Studies conducted in the U.S. and Europe have found that drinking tap water carrying disinfection byproducts increases the risk of developing bladder cancer. THHMs are the most common contaminant found in Minnesota water, being served to nearly 4.29 million people.

Haloacetic acids are formed when disinfectants such as chlorine are added to tap water. The group of five haloacetic acids regulated by federal standards includes monochloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, monobromoacetic acid, and dibromoacetic acid. These acids are harmful during pregnancy as they can induce mutations and DNA damage. Haloacectic acids are the second most common contaminant found in Minnesota, serving a little over 4 million people.

Chloroform, one of the total trihalomethanes (TTHMs), is formed when chlorine or other disinfectants are used to treat drinking water & is commonly found in Minnesota ground and surface waters. Nearly 29% of drinking water records from 1993-2016 showed detections of the contaminant. High levels of Chloroform exposure can increase the risk of cancer and may cause problems during pregnancy.

Nitrate is one of the most common contaminants in drinking water. It gets into water from fertilizer runoff, manure from animal feeding operations, and wastewater treatment plant discharge. Excessive nitrate in water can cause oxygen deprivation in infants and increase the risk of cancer. Tap water in agricultural areas frequently has the highest nitrate concentrations. Private drinking water wells in the vicinity of animal farms and intensively fertilized fields, or in locations where septic tanks are commonly used, can also have unsafe levels of nitrate. In Minnesota, Nitrate levels above health guidelines have been found in 406 utilities, essentially households, and have been served to 3.36 million people.

Radium is a radioactive element that causes bone cancer and other cancers. It can occur naturally in groundwater, and oil and gas extraction activities such as hydraulic fracturing can elevate concentrations. Radium releases radioactive particles that can cause harm to your health in many ways, including the increased chance of developing tumors, leukemia, and skin and blood damage. Water utilities typically report radium amounts in picocuries per liter (pCi/L), which is a measure of the radioactivity in water. Radium levels above health guidelines in Minnesota have been reported to have been served to nearly 2.2 million people.

While many of these contaminants take years of high exposure to experience the consequences you never want to compromise on the overall health of yourself or your family. Our MSP team hopes that making you aware of some of the most common contaminants in your state’s water supply will encourage you to take proactive steps in testing the quality of your home's water.