'We're not known for industrial waste here in the water supply.'

No, you're known for chemical waste. Not just Iowa, but the whole farming Midwest.

If you anticipate having to hunker down and depend on local water, I would gather some of that water in a clean glass jar and have it tested by the land/water people, and find out what you're dealing with. I would suspect chemical fertilizers, herbicides and nitrates/nitrites from livestock, in addition to septic seep.

You will have to specify what you want it tested for, and why. You can't just hand them a jar and say you want a water test. They would probably automatically charge you $10-15 for a basic bacteria test. That's useful, but it's not all you need to know.

Then, you would know what you really need to protect your family. You may need something more elaborate than MP1 tabs.

Some people think livestock waste just evaporates like movie bullets, but it doesn't. I was reading about a site in MA or CT (etc) that was a livery stable for 45 years around the turn of the century (1900). Sixty-five years after it ceased being a livery stable, it was still polluting the local water.

Whoever invented the phrase "S**t Happens" knew what he was talking about.

Sue