> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.investigatemidwest.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Podcast: What Iowa Does To Keep Contaminants Out Of Our Drinking Water
- URL: https://www.investigatemidwest.org/podcast-what-iowa-does-to-keep-contaminants-out-of-our-drinking-water/
- Published: 2016-10-03T13:29:30.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-11T02:39:05.000Z
- Description: This might be hard to believe but the stuff we flush can affect our drinking water. This IowaWatch Connection podcast expands on a story we first reported in August.
- Author: Brittany Robb
- Tags: iowawatch, Uncategorized, Brittany Robb, Drinking Water, Iowa drinking water, Rob Hogg, water contamination, water quality, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-06-18 04:56

This might be hard to believe but the stuff we flush can affect our drinking water.

Prescription drugs and caffeine are contaminating rivers and streams so they have to be treated to become drinking water. Many of these contaminants affect the human endocrine system, which produces hormones that regulate metabolism, growth and development, among other functions.

[Caffeine](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969704000567?ref=investigatemidwest.org) and a drug used [to regulate blood sugar ](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969704000567?ref=investigatemidwest.org)levels for people with Type 2 diabetes wash down the drain every day to become some of the most common unregulated contaminants in Iowa’s public drinking water, [an IowaWatch investigation published in August 2016 revealed.](https://investigatemidwest.org/the-stuff-we-flush-could-come-back-to-haunt-us-when-we-drink-water/?ref=investigatemidwest.org)

The presence of these contaminants is miniscule. But federal government officials are concerned about them because the risks of chronic ingestion of these contaminants are unclear, the result of a lack of research to determine potential health risks for humans.

You can hear IowaWatch radio reports each weekend on a statewide network of stations. To find one near you, visit the [IowaWatch Connection](https://investigatemidwest.org/radio/?ref=investigatemidwest.org) page.