Drugs in Your Drinking Water?

Sometimes people joke about there being "something in the water." Turns out there is something in the water, but the not-so-funny joke's kind of on us.

The AP gave everyone something to think about earlier this month when they reported on their five-month inquiry into pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies. You can read their report here, as it appeared in the Washington Post. Frankly, that pharmaceuticals are pretty ubiquitous in water supplies around the world is no surprise to many, but the most recent information from the AP seems to have penetrated our Pollyanna haze. Everybody's talking about it now.

Determining the presence of drugs is a first step but determining what the implications might be and what can be done about any of it seem even more important. Another recent article suggested links between water contaminated with pharmaceuticals and deformities and reproductive problems in fish and wildlife. Read the news about Lake Mead for yourself. (Pharmaceuticals in water adversely affect wildlife.) It's not a pretty picture.

Makes you wonder what effect chronic exposure to low levels of drug cocktails through our drinking water and food supply might have on us humans. It is impossible to tease apart the food web, you know.

Fortunately there is some good news about water filtration. (Keeping Drugs Out of Drinking Water) Granular activated carbon systems and ozonation prove effective in removing at least some of these types of chemicals from water. Reverse osmosis is also good but wastes a lot of water in the process and just releases the contaminants again in the discharge water. If you don't already have a home filtration system and you're concerned about your water quality, you might want to look into the various options. Studies indicate water filtration can help.

In our service area, the Sonoma County Water Agency is the wholesale water supplier to the VOM Water District, the City of Sonoma, and the City of Petaluma. Some of our customers also obtain their water from the City of Napa or are supplied from private wells. If you have questions about water quality and testing, contact your water supplier. If you're on a private well and would like to have your water tested, check the phone directory under Laboratories-Analytical.

Valley of the Moon Water District
City of Napa Water Quality
City of Petaluma Water Resources & Conservation
City of Sonoma - no online info available. Call City Hall at 707 938 3681.

If you have any questions about installation of point-of-use or whole-house water filtration systems, give us a call here at the shop (707 996 8683). We'd be happy to give you more information. You can also go to the link on our main website for info on the Nature's Miracle whole-house system we feature. And you can read all our blog posts on water filtration here.

:: AP probe finds drugs in drinking water
:: Pharmaceuticals in water adversely affect wildlife
:: Keeping drugs out of drinking water

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Boden Plumbing primarily serves Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley, and the Petaluma area. We provide a full range of residential plumbing repairs and services.
866-663-7477
www.nodrips.com