Could be harmful to infants
Read more: Local, Community, Environment, Health
(Mendon, Ill.) The city of Mendon recently had high levels of nitrates in its drinking water.
That can be harmful to infants under six months of age.
Here's what we found out about nitrate levels for this KHQA factfinder report.
Nitrates are normally found in food and are usually harmless to adults.
But since stomach juices in infants are less acidic, it can cause a condition known as "blue baby".
That state of Illinois has a maximum level for nitrates in drinking water. It is ten milligrams per liter.
The level in Mendon was at 12 milligrams in results that came back August 21st..
A drinking alert was put in place to use bottled water for infants until further notice.
Chief Sanitarian for the Adams County Health Department Mike Hines says he isn't sure if the level could have been harmful, but it doesn't hurt to be ready.
"It sounds to me, the community in question, Mendon, it seems to be doing what they should be doing, taking the appropriate steps," said Hines.
The water in Mendon was tested again and the results that came back Wednesday showed the levels were back to normal.
One business we talked to said they still were not allowing infants to drink water just to be safe.
Some possible causes of high nitrate levels include runoff from fertilized agricultural lands, animal feedlots and decaying plant debris.
