Rolla is unique in that most water and sewer pipes are buried under the roads instead of behind the curbs where smarter municipalities put their lines for easy access. The absence of public easements along many streets for public infrastructure is one of the city's political concessions to the subdivision developer's bottom line. With the weight of pounding traffic just a few inches above plastic, or old iron or clay water and sewer lines, it's not surprising that water lines often crack or break and sometimes erupt through the street. Cracked or crushed sewer lines laid alongside the water lines are not under the same pressure as water lines, so they just quietly ooze and leak their smelly burden into the surrounding soil. Faulty cross-connections with wastewater piping are often the source of nitrate contamination when it occurs in treated water.
Nitrates are of special concern to young children and women of childbearing age.
Of course, they are assuming those common distribution pipes are safely and sanely located away from roads and traffic. Bacteria can enter water following treatment in both the distribution system and household plumbing networks. The problem might be in the line inside your property or in old household pipes. I'm Not Worried, I've Got a Filter. A filter can make tap water look better or even taste better, but not all filters remove the invisible and tasteless organisms and other contaminates that can cause illness and even death.