Conference proceedings are available at in PDF

On November 4, 1994, a conference on Safe Drinking Water: Iowa's Future was held on the campus of Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The conference was sponsored by the Kirkwood Department of Environmental Sciences, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Iowa State Water Resources Research Institute (ISWRRI) at the Iowa State University, and the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination (CHEEC) at the University of Iowa. The conference was organized to provide a forum for discussion of the potential impacts of proposed Safe Drinking Water Act regulations on Iowa communities from economic and public health perspectives. Conference goals were to familiarize the public with the possible health risks associated with contaminants in drinking water supplies, particularly those water treatment technologies which might be utilized in community treatment systems; and to discuss research projects related to minimizing contaminant inputs from various sources including agricultural, rural, and urban areas as a means of pollution prevention and waste reduction. The conference also provided an opportunity for the University of Iowa and Iowa State University to work together on a project that benefited all Iowans. This is particularly appropriate as the Leopold Center and CHEEC were established by the 1987 Iowa Groundwater Protection Act; providing public education on water issues is inherent in the mission of both Centers. Working in cooperation with Kirkwood Community College afforded the best possible venue to conduct the conference, and assured that a diverse audience would participate.