Investigate Wichita Falls water, NDMA and potential public health concerns.
Historical records raise questions about NDMA, potable reuse, treatment conditions and reported pediatric brain tumors in Wichita Falls. Current testing, technical review and public-health evaluation can address the questions that can still be answered.
Establish a current NDMA baseline.
Collect representative samples from the current Wichita Falls reuse and drinking-water system, analyze them for NDMA and other nitrosamines using an appropriate validated analytical method, and release the complete results publicly.
Requested action
Conduct current sampling using EPA Method 521, or an equivalent validated method capable of measuring NDMA at low nanogram-per-liter concentrations. Include the full Method 521 nitrosamine panel when practical, document each sampling location and relevant operating conditions, report laboratory detection and reporting limits, and publish the complete laboratory reports and quality-control information.
Current NDMA testing is one part of the public petition. The petition also asks TCEQ to review the treatment system, DSHS to evaluate the environmental-health and reported pediatric brain-tumor concerns, the City of Wichita Falls to provide records and cooperate with review, and CDC/ATSDR to provide independent technical assistance where warranted. Read the full petition.
Current data can answer a current question.
Historical records raise questions about NDMA, but historical records cannot establish the concentration in the water system today. Current testing can establish current conditions.
Potable reuse continues
Wichita Falls has operated an indirect potable reuse system since 2018, returning treated wastewater to Lake Arrowhead for future use as part of the City's drinking-water supply.
NDMA is measurable
EPA developed Method 521 specifically for nitrosamines in drinking water, including NDMA, at concentrations measured in nanograms per liter.
Routine compliance data do not answer this question
NDMA does not currently have a federal drinking-water maximum contaminant level. A water system can meet current regulated drinking-water standards without routine NDMA results appearing in its annual compliance report.
Test more than one point in the system.
Sampling at several points can help determine whether NDMA is present before reuse water enters Lake Arrowhead, in source water, after drinking-water treatment or farther into distribution. Final sampling locations should be selected by qualified water, regulatory and laboratory professionals.
Resource Recovery Facility final effluent
Collect treated wastewater after final treatment and before discharge through the IPR pipeline to Lake Arrowhead. This would provide a measurement of the reuse water entering the drinking-water source reservoir.
Lake Arrowhead source water
Collect representative raw-water samples associated with the drinking-water intake before municipal treatment. This can help distinguish source-water conditions from changes that occur during treatment.
Finished drinking water
Sample finished drinking water after treatment at the facilities receiving Lake Arrowhead source water. Relevant plant operating conditions and disinfectant information should be documented with the samples.
Distribution-system locations
Include representative locations at different residence times or distances within the distribution system, including locations influenced by storage where technically appropriate.
Repeat sampling
A single sampling event provides one snapshot. Repeat or confirmatory sampling under additional operating or seasonal conditions can provide a stronger baseline when warranted by the initial results.
EPA Method 521
Testing should use a method designed for nitrosamines at concentrations relevant to drinking-water evaluation.
Designed specifically for nitrosamines
EPA Method 521 determines nitrosamines in drinking water using solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry.
The method includes NDMA as well as NMEA, NDEA, NDPA, NDBA, NPYR and NPIP.
Laboratory reports should include the analytical result, reporting limit, method detection information and applicable quality-control results so the data can be evaluated properly.
2 ng/L
Testing gives us data to evaluate.
If NDMA is not detected
A non-detect result would provide useful current information, provided the laboratory reporting limit, sample location and relevant operating conditions are known. It would describe the samples tested at that time.
If NDMA is detected
The concentration, location and treatment conditions would help determine appropriate follow-up. Confirmatory testing and review by water-treatment, toxicology and regulatory professionals could then be based on measured data.
What current testing can establish
Current testing can establish whether NDMA is detected in particular samples collected from the present system and at what concentration.
What current testing cannot establish
Testing performed today cannot reconstruct every historical concentration or determine an individual's past exposure. Historical questions require historical evidence and appropriate professional evaluation.
Publish the complete results.
Public testing is most useful when the underlying data can be independently reviewed.
The request includes public release of laboratory reports, sample dates and locations, reporting limits, quality-control information, relevant treatment and IPR operating conditions, and any agency interpretation, conclusions or follow-up recommendations.
Ask for the investigation.
Support the public petition and send a respectful request to the agencies and officials responsible for drinking-water oversight, toxicology and the Wichita Falls water system.
Support the public petition
Add your name to the request for current NDMA testing, technical review, public-health evaluation and publication of the findings.
Sign the petition →Email TCEQ Toxicology
Ask TCEQ Toxicology to evaluate the NDMA evidence and potential human-health implications.
Email TCEQ Toxicology →Email TCEQ Public Drinking Water
Ask the Water Supply Division to evaluate the current potable reuse system, treatment configuration and need for current NDMA sampling.
Email Public Drinking Water →Email Wichita Falls Water Purification
Ask the City to support current NDMA testing, provide relevant treatment information and publish the complete results.
Email Hunter Adams →Review the sources behind the request.
EPA Method 521
Federal analytical method for determination of nitrosamines in drinking water.
View EPA methods →EPA UCMR 2
Federal monitoring program that included NDMA and other nitrosamines using EPA Method 521.
View UCMR 2 →Wichita Falls Resource Recovery
City information about the current IPR system and treated wastewater returned to Lake Arrowhead.
View City resource →2026 Drinking Water Quality Report
Current City report describing Wichita Falls water sources, treatment and the IPR program.
View report →TCEQ Public Drinking Water
Texas resources for drinking-water monitoring, compliance, treatment and consumer concerns.
Visit TCEQ →TCEQ Toxicology
Toxicology, risk assessment and environmental-data evaluation resources from the State of Texas.
Visit TCEQ Toxicology →Texas DSHS Environmental Surveillance & Toxicology
State environmental-health resources addressing chemical exposures, health assessment and unusual patterns of disease.
Visit DSHS →CDC / ATSDR
Federal environmental-health resources and technical guidance relevant to exposure assessment and unusual cancer patterns.
Visit ATSDR →Get the answers that can still be obtained.
Historical questions may remain difficult. Current water can be sampled. NDMA can be measured. The current treatment system can be reviewed. The available environmental and public-health information can be evaluated by the agencies equipped to do so.
The purpose of this request is to collect current data, examine the existing record and determine what further action is warranted.