Are You at Risk From Drugs in our Drinking Water in Los Angeles?

Let me tell you a quick story about drugs in our drinking water. The issue is a growing concern across the country, and needs careful consideration from all consumers.

In an investigative report by the AP, an extensive review of water quality surveys was conducted, including review of test data for water supplies in over 50 cities.

In the city of Los Angeles, the report showed that the tranquilizers  meprobamate and phenytoin were identified.

The company that supplies water to Los Angeles is the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California. This district serves over 20 cities in the greater Los Angeles area.

Metropolitan built the Colorado River Aqueduct to bring water from Parker Dam on the Colorado River to the MWD service area. Additional water supplies are being brought in from the California State Water Project as well.

You might ask yourself what difference it makes as to the source of the water. The answer lies in what feeds into these upstream sources. With the rapid growth of development in all of California, there are now significant populations near almost all major water sources. These populations are using an increasing amount of medications, both prescription and non-prescription.

As medications are processed by the body, some portion often remains, which gets eliminated by the body and enters the sewage system. People also often dispose of their unused medications by flushing them down the toilet.

Municipal treatment systems do their best to filter and disinfect the sewage, but these systems were not designed to remove drugs in our drinking water. As a result, the treated water re-enters the water supply, and then in picked up for redistribution to cities and towns.

An early indicator that these concerns have some basis can be found in studies of the effects of drugs in our drinking water on fish populations. Federal studies of the effect of hormones on female fish indicate disturbances in the reproductive cycle, while male fish often show features common in female fish. These results have bolstered the call for action by national environmental groups and water quality experts.

 
Your next step? To take what you’ve just learned and protect your self against drugs found in US drinking water. The best action you can take is to put in a drinking water filter system in your home. The features that are of most benefit are mechanical filter components  to remove chemical contaminants, ion exchange systems to remove lead and metals, and sub micron membranes remove unwanted medications and organisms.

You can do a survey of the best systems available in few hours, then you will be ready to make your choice for avoiding drugs in our drinking water!