Resources

Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water

There are 170,000+ public water systems.  They are regulated to watch almost 100 0f the harmful substances generally present in drinking water.  This covers bacteria, viruses, traces of certain metals and there are some regulations on the volatile organic compounds in our water.

There aren’t, at this point, very many rules, if any, governing pharmaceuticals.

I think most of us know not to flush pharmaceuticals for that exact reason and the EPA has some guidelines to discourage/limit the amount being flushed by hospitals and nursing homes.  A study as recent as 2007 from California was showing that a whopping HALF of all medications were ultimately discarded.  Say their numbers were fully double reality.  So only 25% of our drugs are discarded.  That’s still a lot.

As bad, especially in the context of an aging population, is that drug doses are set knowing full well that we don’t metabolize everything we ingest.

And that’s just the human factor.  The U.S. Geological Survey has been studying areas downstream from drug manufacturing plants and found instances in New York where they were finding levels upwards of 1,000x’s higher than in other water supplies.

It’s not a big secret that our poultry and livestock sources are loaded with hormones and some folks are choosing to pay extra for animals that aren’t routinely injected with antibiotics.   But their waste still finds our waterways.

The good news is that standard sewage treatment appears to knock ibuprofen levels down by upwards of 90%.  The bad news is that it doesn’t touch some pain medicines.  And, since sewage sludge is used as fertilizer in many applications, it doesn’t exactly go away.

We are all exposed to enough toxicity on a daily basis from just air and food.  Water’s role in flushing our bodies out presupposes that we’re drinking water free of additional toxins.

That’s why many people are choosing to go with water purifiers and drinking water filtration systems.   Quality matters on these.  Some of Kinetico’s drinking water systems are so advanced, they can eliminate almost everything in your water that isn’t water.

Do I Really Need a Drinking Water System?

If you are worried about what’s in your tap water, take the first step.  Contact us for a free in-home water analysis.  We’ll tell you what we see in the water and make a few recommendations.

We know that choosing a drinking water system can be confusing.  There are a wide variety of drinking water and water filtration systems on the market, even at Kinetico.  We can help you filter through the many options available by taking a look at the kind of water issues you are experiencing, understanding your lifestyle, and paying attention to your budget

Water Doctors

Water Doctors

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Post comment

Get Your FREE Water Test

Schedule a free in-home consultation with our team of experts today!