A man who calls himself a "historian of the Mississippi River" will speak to the local chapter of the Sierra Club this weekend. John Anfinson is superintendent of the Mississippi National River Recreation Area in Minnesota, and author ten years ago of a book, "The River We Have Wrought."
Nowadays, Anfinson studies water and water quality, and worries that most of us just drink water out of the tap, without checking to make sure it's clean and healthy.
"We don't know what gets into our water supply sometimes. We've seen lead in Michigan, nitrates in Des Moines, and crypto-sporidium in Milwaukee. So things can still get in our system and we're so surprised when that happens. We just assume modern times have taken care of those issues."
He says some water treatment plants can eliminate these hazards, but not all. So he suggests contacting the supplier of your water, whether it's the city or a private company.
"What does their system address ? Does it address endocrine disruptors like we see when people flush medications down the toilet ? Could it handle crypto-sporidium ?"
Anfinson does drink tap water at home in Minnesota, but with a filter attachment.
He'll speak to the Eagle View Group of the Sierra Club Friday night during a dinner meeting at the Freight House in Davenport.
