Table of Contents
Can You Drink Tap Water in Moline?
Yes, Moline's tap water is generally considered safe to drink as Moline has no active health based violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) that we are aware of. Other factors such as lead piping in a home, or low levels of pollutants on immunocompromised individuals, should also be considered, however. To find more recent info we might have, you can check out our boil water notice page or the city's water provider website.
According the EPA’s ECHO database, from April 30, 2019 to June 30, 2022, Moline's water utility, Moline, had 0 violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. For more details on the violations, please see our violation history section below. This assessment is based on the Moline water system, other water systems in the city may have different results.
While tap water that meets the EPA health guidelines generally won’t make you sick to your stomach, it can still contain regulated and unregulated contaminants present in trace amounts that could potentially cause health issues over the long-run. These trace contaminants may also impact immunocompromised and vulnerable individuals.
The EPA is reviewing if it’s current regulations around pollutant levels in tap water are strict enough, and the health dangers posed by unregulated pollutants, like PFAS.
Moline Tap Water Safe Drinking Water Act Violation History - Prior 10 Years
Below is a ten year history of violations for the water system named Moline for Moline in Illinois. For more details please see the "What do these Violations Mean?" section below.
Is there Lead in Moline Water?
Based on the EPA’s ECHO Database, 90% of the samples taken from the Moline water system, Moline, between sample start date and sample end date, were at or below, 0.0019 mg/L of lead in Moline water. This is 12.7% of the 0.015 mg/L action level. This means 10% of the samples taken from Moline contained more lead.
While Moline water testing may have found 0.0019 mg/L of lead in its water, that does not mean your water source has the same amount. The amount of lead in water in a city can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood, or even building to building. Many buildings, particularly older ones, have lead pipes or service lines which can be a source of contamination. To find out if your home has lead, we recommend getting you water tested.
No amount of lead in water is healthy, only less dangerous. As lead accumulates in our bodies over time, even exposure to relatively small amounts can have negative health effects. For more information, please check out our Lead FAQ page.
Are there PFAS in Moline Tap Water?
Currently, testing tap water for PFAS isn’t mandated on a national level. We do have a list of military bases where there have been suspected or confirmed leaks. There appears to be at least one military base - Rock Island Arsenal - near Moline with suspected leaks.
With many potential sources of PFAS in tap water across the US, the best information we currently have about which cities have PFAS in their water is this ewg map, which you can check to see if Moline has been evaluated for yet.
Our stance is better safe than sorry, and that it makes sense to try to purify the tap water just in case.
What do these Violations Mean?
Safe Drinking Water Act Violations categories split into two groups, health based, and non-health based. Generally, health based violations are more serious, though non-health based violations can also be cause for concern.
Health Based Violations
- Maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) - maximum allowed contaminant level was exceeded.
- Maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs) - maximum allowed disinfectant level was exceeded.
- Other violations (Other) - the exact required process to reduce the amounts of contaminants in drinking water was not followed.
Non-Health Based Violations
- Monitoring and reporting violations (MR, MON) - failure to conduct the required regular monitoring of drinking water quality, and/or to submit monitoring results on time.
- Public notice violations (Other) - failure to immediately alert consumers if there is a serious problem with their drinking water that may pose a risk to public health.
- Other violations (Other) - miscellaneous violations, such as failure to issue annual consumer confidence reports or maintain required records.
SDWA Table Key
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Compliance Period | Dates of the compliance period. |
| Status |
Current status of the violation.
|
| Health-Based? | Whether the violation is health based. |
| Category Code |
The category of violation that is reported.
|
| Code | A full description of violation codes can be accessed in the SDWA_REF_CODE_VALUES (CSV) table. |
| Contaminant Code | A code value that represents a contaminant for which a public water system has incurred a violation of a primary drinking water regulation. |
| Rule Code |
Code for a National Drinking Water rule.
|
| Rule Group Code |
Code that uniquely identifies a rule group.
|
| Rule Family Code |
Code for rule family.
|
For more clarification please visit the EPA's data dictionary.
Moline Water - Frequently Asked Questions
| By Mail: | MOLINE WATER DIVISION 30 - 18th STREET MOLINE, IL, 61265 |
Existing customers can login to their Moline account to pay their Moline water bill by clicking here.
If you want to pay your Moline bill online and haven't made an account yet, you can create an account online. Please click here to create your account to pay your Moline water bill.
If you don't want to make an account, or can't remember your account, you can make a one-time payment towards your Moline water bill without creating an account using a one time payment portal with your account number and credit or debit card. Click here to make a one time payment.
Moving to a new house or apartment in Moline means you will often need to put the water in your name with Moline. In order to put the water in your name, please click the link to the start service form below. Start service requests for water bills typically take two business days.
Leaving your house or apartment in Moline means you will likely need to take your name off of the water bill with Moline. In order to take your name off the water bill, please click the link to the stop service form below. Stop service for water bills requests typically take two business days.
The estimated price of bottled water
$1.74 in USD (1.5-liter)
USER SUBMITTED RATINGS
- Drinking Water Pollution and Inaccessibility
- Water Pollution
- Drinking Water Quality and Accessibility
- Water Quality
The above data is comprised of subjective, user submitted opinions about the water quality and pollution in Moline, measured on a scale from 0% (lowest) to 100% (highest).
Related FAQS
Contaminants
Moline
EWG's drinking water quality report shows results of tests conducted by the water utility and provided to the Environmental Working Group by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, as well as information from the U.S. EPA Enforcement and Compliance History database (ECHO). For the latest quarter assessed by the U.S. EPA (January 2019 - March 2019), tap water provided by this water utility was in compliance with federal health-based drinking water standards.
Utility details
- Serves: 44718
- Data available: 2012-2017
- Data Source: Surface water
- Total: 20
Contaminants That Exceed Guidelines
- Bromodichloromethane
- Chloroform
- Chromium (hexavalent)
- Dichloroacetic acid
- Nitrate
- Nitrate and nitrite
- Radium%2C combined (-226 & -228)
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs)
Other Detected Contaminants
- 1%2C4-Dioxane
- Barium
- Chlorate
- Chromium (total)
- Fluoride
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Molybdenum
- Monobromoacetic acid
- Monochloroacetic acid
- Strontium
- Trichloroacetic acid
- Vanadium
Reminder
Always take extra precautions, the water may be safe to drink when it leaves the sewage treatment plant but it may pick up pollutants during its way to your tap. We advise that you ask locals or hotel staff about the water quality. Also, note that different cities have different water mineral contents.
Sources and Resources
Sources Cited
Additional Resources
Moline’s tap water supply is central to the economic prosperity of our community. Moline businesses and commercial enterprises rely on tap water to sustain their day-to-day operations. Moline’s water supply has sufficient capacity to support new retail and residential developments that will help vitalize our local economy.
Tap water is more than a convenience — it is vital to our everyday lives. The use of tap water is intricately woven into people’s lives. They rely on tap water to prepare their meals, brush their teeth, do their laundry, and do many everyday activities. Schools, hospitals, and medical facilities must have a safe and reliable water supply to function. The high-quality tap water provided to Moline homes and businesses protects our health and safety while enhancing our standard of living and overall enjoyment of life.
Source of Water
MOLINE Illinois EPA considers all surface water sources of community water supply to be susceptible to potential pollution problems, hence, mandatory treatment for all surface water supplies in Illinois.
Mandatory treatment includes coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection. Within the Illinois portion of the Mississippi River Watershed, illustrated in Figure 3, many commodities, including manufactured goods, petrochemicals, and pesticides, are transported along with the river system.
These commodities’ production, storage, and transportation are significant concerns, primarily when near-surface water intakes. In addition, agricultural runoff within the Illinois portion of the Mississippi River Basin contributes to the susceptibility of the Moline intake. With high flow rates and long travel distances on the Mississippi River, critical areas can be extensive. The crucial location in the Moline intake was determined using data from a joint U.S. Environmental Protection Agency/ U.S. Geological Survey project.
This project used a computer modeling program (SPARROW) to determine travel times on major rivers in the United States. Accidental spills of hazardous materials into navigable waterways are a significant concern because of their frequency in the United States in recent years. Illinois has access to 1,116 miles of inland waterway that can handle commercial barge traffic. These include the Upper Mississippi River, Illinois River Waterway, and the Ohio River. Along these waterways are numerous facilities that load and unload hazardous materials. Analysis of reported spills indicates that between 1974 and 1989, 794 accidental spills of dangerous materials occurred along Illinois waterways. Approximately 92% of these spills occurred along the Mississippi and/or the Illinois River.
Further information concerning spill response planning on the Mississippi River may be found on U.S. EPA’s website at www.epa.gov/region5/oil.
The Upper Mississippi River Water Suppliers Coalition is currently developing an Early Warning Monitoring Network on the Mississippi River. This Network would enhance response times by providing supplies with early notification of spills on the Mississippi River.