Pharmaceuticals in tap water a concern for some, not others
Officials say trace amounts of drugs have been in water for decades
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

Drinking water isn't quite as pure as once was thought, but Ventura County residents still shouldn't be alarmed about recent national reports that point to the presence of pharmaceuticals in drinking water systems, area water agency officials say.

The report, however, has one local pharmacy director concerned about the cumulative effect the trace amounts of pharmaceuticals have on those drinking tap water, and he suggests that something should be done to stop the contamination as soon as possible.

"With the amount of medications we use as a country, we do need to start worrying about it, and we need to develop better disposal systems," said Anthony Antonelli, director of pharmacy services at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks.

Eric Bergh, a spokesperson for the Calleguas Municipal Water District that serves most of Ventura County, said, "It's good to err on the side of caution, but the reality is that water is going to pick up everything it touches."

From fluoride to benzene to prescription medications, local water sources are not immune from human activity.

The presence of trace amounts of pharmaceuticals- such as antibiotics, anti-convulsion drugs, mood stabilizers and sex hormones- in the drinking water supplied to millions of Americans isn't news to the water industry, said John Mundy, general manager for the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) that serves about 65,000 residents in the eastern Conejo Valley. These ingredients have been present in water for many years, he said.

The difference is that contaminants can now be detected at one part per trillion, equal to one drop in 20 Olympic-sized pools, because analytical methods have improved dramatically over the last decade, said Bergh.

"We are seeing what was previously invisible to us," said Mike Phelps, laboratory manager with the Camrosa Water District, which supplies water to about 8,000 homes in Camarillo.

"You are going to get more chemicals in your body by breathing the air," Phelps said.

Most compounds are not hazardous to human health, and no one knows for sure if these chemicals are dangerous in the long term, Bergh said.

"It's not like these pharmaceuticals are coming from outer space and landing in our water," said Mundy.

Pharmaceuticals are present in water because people are using more prescription drugs than ever before. The body doesn't absorb everything, so trace amounts are eliminated through urine, Mundy said.

The public also often disposes of leftover medicine into the toilet; the drugs make their way into the sewer system and treatment plants and back into the fresh water supply.

Both Calleguas and the Las Virgenes districts receive most of their water from the Metropolitan Water District, which pumps water out of the Sacramento Delta.

"Our water originates in Northern California as rain or snow and makes its way down through the aqueduct before it's delivered here," said Mundy.

Local water is exposed to some discharges before it is processed because there are several treatment plants and agricultural areas upstream from the pumping station that takes water into the aqueduct, but unlike closedloop water systems there is little reuse of water here, said Bergh and Mundy.

The water is also treated several times before it's dispensed to residents. "Ozone is one of the more effective ways to treat for pharmaceutical substances," Mundy said.

Yet as good as the treatment processes are, they can't remove every chemical, especially at this level, said Bergh.

Local water agencies received four inquiries from customers concerned about the recent news reports. People are becoming more aware that news reports about environmental and health dangers are abundant but not always valid, Bergh said. "It's just a matter of deciphering facts versus fiction."

While consequences don't appear life-threatening, the problem of pharmaceuticals entering the water stream must be addressed to protect future generations, Antonelli said.

"You can't say accurately that there won't be any effects, but we know that higher concentrations could be a problem," Antonelli said.

Similar concerns with chemical plant discharges and contamination at the Rocketdyne site in Simi Valley were also minimized until problems developed decades later, he said.

"Every time we take this type of stance we get ourselves into trouble down the road," Antonelli said. "Instead of taking a cavalier attitude we need to think of future consequences."

Ideally, pharmaceuticals should be incinerated rather than buried into landfills, but there is no system in place to consistently do this now, Antonelli said.

"We as a country haven't done a very good job with our waste stream," he said, suggesting local hospitals, pharmacies and cities must work together to create a pharmaceutical recycling program.

In the meantime, local residents should not throw medications down the toilet, Antonelli said. To lessen the chances of contamination, substance abuse and accidental poisoning, people should check with their pharmacies to see if they accept leftover medications for disposal.

If people choose to dispose of prescriptions in the regular trash, they should wet down the capsules inside the original container and seal it with tape before it is thrown away.

Because of the new findings, Los Robles is now developing a plan to help local residents dispose of unwanted medications at the hospital, Antonelli said.

Jeff Reinhardt, a spokesperson for LVMWD, said the pharmaceutical industry is partly to blame for the newly found contaminants in water. When state legislators tried to pass Senate Bill 966, a bill that would mandate different disposal methods, the industry fought hard to dilute the effects of the new law, he said.

"The bill would have required unused medications to be returned to pharmacies, but it was watered downed to a bill that promises to study the issues to see what the impacts of this mandate would be," Reinhardt said.