1 Statement of the National Association of Water Companies
water service provider. Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act Compliance. The NAWC and its members commend the US Environmental Protection Agency and Administrator Lisa. Jackson for a strong commitment to environmental compliance and consistency through enforcement of …Read more

ANNUAL COMPLIANCE REPORT
This annual Compliance Report has been developed to meet the requirements of section 1414 Acute MCL (maximum contaminant level) violation: A violation where the system found fecal coliform or. E. coli, potentially harmful bacteria, in its water, thereby a violation the rule. …Read more

Ballast Water Treatment Testing Guidelines
Species Program (MISP) has developed the “Ballast Water Treatment Technology. Testing Guidelines” to provide treatment determining the likelihood of compliance with relevant aspects of California’s water …Read more

ANNUAL COMPLIANCE REPORT
report (ACRs) that describe the status of compliance of public water supplies with the SDWA. for calendar year 2000 that describes the status of compliance with the SDWA in Montana. …Read more

Water Quality Compliance
Water Quality Compliance. The water in Mt. Laurel is tested year round which includes daily operational sampling. through compliance monitoring dictated by both state and federal regulations, and in all. cases the water and the parameters tested for are consistently within or exceed those …Read more

Construction Stormwater Inspection Manual
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Water (DOW) considers there to be two types of inspections germane to construction stormwater; compliance. inspections and self-inspections. The first action a compliance inspector should take upon entering a …Read more

45093.ppt
EPA Region 2 website: www.epa.gov/region02/water/compliance Implementation of innovative hold and haul technology, while concurrently reducing water consumption, from the traditional 120 gallons per embalming to only 5 gallons …Read more

What You Need to Know About Drugs in Your Drinking Water

It’s a fact that there are many contaminants in drinking water today. A growing area of concern is the appearance of drugs in your drinking water. The presence of many of these medications is a byproduct of aging water treatment systems and a lack of government standards to regulate their presence in drinking water. This article will provide background on the reasons drugs are appearing more frequently, and what are the prospects for the future.

Where are the drugs coming from?

As you might expect, the path of drugs in drinking water starts with people. Men, women and children around the world take pain relievers, cough syrup, and prescription medication every day. Most of these medications are absorbed by the body, but a portion end up passing through the body and into the water treatment system. Current municipal systems filter out soilds and do some disinfecting, then return the medicated water to lakes, rivers and oceans.

Thanks to the water cycle, this drug laden water recycles back into water sources, primarily surface and ground water.  Again, the water is filtered for solids and disinfected, usually with chlorine, then distributed through city water systems. The city systems do not have the technology to filter out drugs found in drinking water, so consumers end up getting a dose of medication they were not anticipating.

Why haven’t we heard about this?

A Federal law, the Safe Water Drinking Act, has been in place for many years, and identifies a number of contaminants that municipal water supplies must check for and screen to appropriate levels. This list of contaminants does not include a single medication, and the law has not been updated significantly since it was passed in the 1960’s. Therefore, city water systems can claim to be in compliance with federal water standards, but these standards do not restrict the presence of drugs in drinking water.

The manner in which consumers find out about this growing concern is through independent testing. The Associated Press conducted an investigation into multiple city water supplies. Of 62 city water providers contacted, just 28 indicated they had conducted testing for the presence of drugs.  Similarly, testing of the watersheds that supply 35 of these 62 water providers has shown contamination from drugs.

The types of drugs found in these tests range from heart medicine, antibiotics, anti-convulsants and sex hormones. While these are being found in trace amounts, there is a growing concern of long term exposure to even these low levels. In the AP article, Benjamin Grumbles of the U.S. EPA stated “We recognize it is a growing concern and we’re taking it very seriously”.

What can you do?

As a consumer, your best path for protection is to seek out an effective home water filter. Multiple technologies exist for home water filtering.  Ion exchange techniques remove contaminants by replacing harmful substances with beneficial ones. Sub micron filters provide a mechanical barrier to dissolved solids. Adsorption removes volatile organic chemicals which are often associated with medications.

In conclusion, the threat of drugs in drinking water has been developing for a number of years. It’s up to each one of us to assess the state of our drinking water, and find effective solutions for removing these potentially harmful substances. Use the information in this article, do your research, and find a home water filter that is the right choice for you!