The Truth About Drugs in the Drinking Water-does Anybody Care?

Since the Associated Press Investigation of five months has surfaced, regarding drugs in the drinking water, more people are interested in the safeness of their drinking water.  But this did not occur overnight, in fact, according to the United States Geological Study from the summer of 2006, MALE largemouth and smallmouth bass were carrying immature EGGS when caught. 

How long this had been going on, was uncertain. But one thing that is certain is this- With prescription drugs in the drinking water being discovered in many major cities public water supplies, drugs such as estrogen, sex hormones, radiation or chemotherapy prescriptions, painkillers, mood stabilizers, heart medicine and others, it’s a wonder everybody isn’t carrying eggs or worse, not just the fish.

The case of a Nebraska feedlot, where cattle are given time-released steroids through an ear tag, when a water supply stream was tested near the feedlot, the chemical tests came back 4 times higher downstream from the feedlot, than upstream above the feedlot.  In addition, the fathead minnow, native to the stream, was found to have low testerone levels and small heads downstream, and more normal levels and the fathead they are named for upstream from the feedlot. 

What does this mean? Over some period of time, the chemicals in our water supply can affect the natural evolution of fish, earthworms, and it’s too soon to tell about humans.  The same types of drugs that are in the water supply stream are also the same type of drugs in the drinking water that could be coming from your public water supply.

Bottled water companies are not governed by any regulatory source, as long as it is bottled water, it can even come from a tap, as bottled water, is just that-bottled water.

Presently, the EPA admits that there are no treatment plants for the prescription drugs in drinking water. This would be too costly to do on a large-scale basis.  Reverse osmosis and household filtration systems can remove virtually all traces of prescription drugs in drinking water, but this has to be done on a household level at this time. 

Many public water supplies add chlorine for purification, which can make some chemicals, (such as those found in prescription drugs), more toxic. Many Americans think that the government, EPA and other agencies are looking out for this danger.

While the Safety Water Act was designed for the public’s safety, presently the only drug tested for is nitroglycerin and that is because it can be made into explosives. They do not test for any other prescription drugs in the drinking water at this time. 
Many Americans, hospitals, and treatment centers dispose of, through waste into the public sewage systems, (which are now reclaimed, distilled and recycled due to water shortages and droughts), many cancer treatment chemotherapy and radiation drugs, angina and heart medicines. Now is the time for your own home water treatment options if you are concerned with drugs in the drinking water.