City of Grinnell Water Quality Update
The City of Grinnell has informed community members that periodic testing of the water it provides has found levels of radium above EPA drinking water standards. However, it is important to note that the EPA’s maximum contaminant level for radium is designed to protect individuals who consume two liters of water per day over the course of 70 years.
Based on the available testing data, regulatory guidance, and expert review, public health authorities continue to indicate that the city’s water supply remains safe for consumption. The risk associated with current radium levels is very low (less than EPA estimates for annual doses from other common sources of radiation such as a chest x-ray or mammogram).
Radium removal requires technologies such as reverse osmosis or ion-exchange treatment, and the city is completing construction of a new water treatment system that will provide a long-term solution for reducing radium levels in the municipal water supply. The new system is expected to be operational by January 2027.
As an immediate mitigation effort, the College has contracted with Culligan water services to install and maintain multi-stage reverse osmosis water filtration stations around campus where personal water bottles can be filled. Installation of the new units is expected to be completed by Friday (Aug. 21) for stations located in:
- JRC first floor Spencer Grill east wall
- Bear Center first floor hallway south of the fitness center
- HSSC first floor atrium just north of the Global Café
- Bucksbaum first floor hallway west of the museum
- Noyce first floor at the north end of the “elbow” hallway
The JRC Marketplace fountain stations also operate with a reverse osmosis system for beverages consumed while dining in (personal water bottles cannot be filled at the Marketplace fountains). For those who prefer commercially bottled water, it is available for purchase in multiple locations across campus.
Additional water quality information is available online at: