The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) requires public water suppliers to notify the members of the community about certain monitoring and reporting violations. Illinois State University is a public water supplier to the campus community that utilizes public water supplied and concurrently tested by the Town of Normal. Although the University doesn’t conduct additional treatment of public water supplies, Illinois State is required to be registered as a public water supplier. We are required to monitor your drinking water for specific contaminants on a regular basis. Results of regular monitoring are an indicator of whether or not your drinking water meets health standards. During the month of November 2023, we did not complete all monitoring or testing for coliform bacteria and chlorine, and therefore cannot be sure of the quality of your drinking water during that time. As a result, the IEPA issued two Tier 3 violations to the University.
What Do These Violations Mean?
A Tier 3 EPA monitoring violation is a situation where a water system fails to comply with a drinking water standard (i.e. failure to take a required sample on time) that doesn’t directly impact human health. Failure to appropriately monitor coliform bacteria, including E. coli, can lead to delayed detection in the public water supply. While the presence of coliform bacteria does not necessarily mean that the water was unsafe to drink during that time period, it was not tested completely for contamination. Chlorine is used to disinfect the water and ensure it is safe for consumption. Failure to appropriately monitor for chlorine residual can lead to a lower-than-required chlorine residual, which can be an indication of inadequate disinfection.
What Has Been Done?
The University has since completed the required testing of our public water supply and is compliant with all applicable public water supply monitoring requirements. Subsequent public water testing in December 2023 and throughout 2024 has revealed no presence of E. coli and chlorine residual levels are within the acceptable range.
What Should You Do?
No immediate action is required as the water remains safe to use for drinking and other household purposes. Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly. You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
For More Information:
If you have questions regarding this public notice or need additional information, please contact ISU Facilities Services at (309) 438-5656 or facilities@ilstu.edu. ISU’s Water Operator Foreman is Toby Hoover, ISU Heating Plant, 100 S. University Street, Normal, IL 61761.
Please visit the ISU Environmental Health and Safety website to view the 2023 Annual Water Quality Report.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and we are committed to maintaining the safety and reliability of your drinking water. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
