NRDC Switchboard: Endocrine disruptors in drinking water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 10, 2010 at 5:41 am

From Gina Solomon at the NRDC Switchboard blog:

“Some years ago, I was invited to speak at the Riverside County Medical Association in Southern California. A contaminant called perchlorate had been detected in the water supply, and the local physicians were concerned. I outlined the health data on perchlorate, including the fact that it blocks uptake of iodine into the thyroid gland and thereby blocks normal production of thyroid hormones. I also reviewed the science on how subtle disruption of thyroid function can permanently impair normal brain development in the fetus and neonate. Finally, I described the multiple sources of perchlorate pollution – including water contamination from rocket fuel and fireworks manufacturing. I closed by sharing the latest monitoring data, which showed that 402 public water systems serving 40.8 million people in 27 states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories had perchlorate in their treated water or in their water sources. California had the largest number of systems with perchlorate detections.

After my talk, an elderly physician in the audience stood up. He explained that he had spent his entire career treating patients with thyroid disease in this community. He said: “Now we learn that something in the water may be contributing to thyroid disease. What am I supposed to do about it? More importantly, what am I supposed to tell my patients? Should I tell them not to drink the water?” He went on to say: “I’m not a big fan of Government, but in this case we need the government to get involved and deal with this problem.” I agreed with him. This isn’t something health care providers and their patients should have to struggle with. This is EPA’s job. … “

March 10, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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A better vintage of tap water: An array of water filters for your home

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 10, 2010 at 5:38 am

From the Wall Street Journal:

“The war for your tap—and shower, ice maker and water bottle—is on. Manufacturers are pitching a bevy of new products that filter water in the home promising to deliver everything from safer sipping and bathing, to more youthful skin.

With concerns mounting about tap-water purity, there are a slew of new products on the market. About the House columnist Wendy Bounds samples filters for faucets, showers, water bottles and pitchers – and even enlists the help of some thirsty friends to determine which filtered pitcher emerges as the winner of a taste-test.

Shower filters touting “softer skin & hair in 1 week” are now the biggest seller for Fort Worth, Texas-based Sun Water Systems Inc.’s Aquasana brand. Wellness Enterprises LLC, Gainesville, Fla., launched last summer a portable water bottle with a filter built into the straw that claims to remove chlorine and lead, among other things. And Atmospheric Water Systems Inc. of San Luis Obispo, Calif., recently introduced a $1,595 dehumidifier/purification unit that bypasses water pipes altogether, pulling moisture from the air and sending it through a multi-step filtration process to produce drinking water.

The economic downturn has whetted consumers’ appetite for tap water. The average per capita consumption of bottled water slipped an estimated 3.5% last year from 2008, according to Beverage Marketing Corp. “What turned the tide for us was the huge negative PR effort behind bottled water from a green standpoint, and then the economy hit the skids and people were looking for a way to save money,” says Doug Kellam, chief executive of Zero Technologies LLC. His company makes a pitcher that promises to remove 100% of detectable dissolved solids (minerals, salts, metals) and comes with a meter to prove it. … “

Continue reading this article from the Wall Street Journal by clicking here.

March 10, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Disposing of old pharmaceuticals

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 27, 2010 at 8:05 am

From Mae Wu at the NRDC Switchboard blog:

“Cough, cough, cough. It’s that time of the year again: cold and flu season. It means that I’ve already spent a few days at home to avoid spreading too many germs to my colleagues. It also means that I’ve been walking the aisles of the drug store, trying to decide which medicine is going to tackle my newest symptoms. And that means that I have a small but growing stockpile of expired drugs in my house.

What do I do with my expired medicine?

It’s a good question, because there are environmental and human health consequences to what is done. Here in the U.S., we have a “toilet to tap” system. The things that we flush down the toilet and sink get treated at a wastewater plant, which then puts the treated water into the rivers and streams that we use to get our drinking water. Since we have no regulations requiring wastewater treatment plants to treat for pharmaceuticals, this means that flushing drugs down the toilet or washing them down the sink is a sure way to make sure they end up in our drinking water.

But then again, throwing them in the trash isn’t an answer either. As it turns out, researchers have also found pharmaceuticals leaching from landfills, so throwing the into the trash doesn’t help either. … “

Continue reading this post at the NRDC Switchboard blog by clicking here.

February 27, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Baca perchlorate bill approved by House Natural Resources Committee

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 27, 2010 at 7:22 am

From Congressman Joe Baca:

“Today, the House Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved legislation introduced by Congressman Joe Baca (D-Rialto) that calls for a government based study of the current perchlorate crisis in the Inland Empire. H.R. 4252, the Inland Empire Perchlorate Ground Water Plume Assessment Act, directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of water resources and perchlorate contamination in the Inland Empire, specifically ordering the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a study of the Rialto-Colton water basin focused on the perchlorate contaminated plume in Rialto.

“Many families in the Inland Empire are concerned about the quality and safety of the water they drink,” said Rep. Baca. “My legislation calls for a much-needed USGS study of the Rialto-Colton water basin in order to find the best possible solutions to cleaning up the perchlorate contamination in our area. I thank the Chairman Nick Rahall, and my colleagues on the Natural Resources Committee for working with me to move this legislation forward. Every American deserves access to clean, safe drinking water, and my bill helps to safeguard this essential right for Inland residents.” … “

Continue reading at Congressman Joe Baca’s website by clicking here.

February 27, 2010 · Filed Under Perchlorate

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Drinking water upgrades lag amid Rio Linda-Elverta district turmoil

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 21, 2010 at 7:32 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

“Elected officials managing the drinking water system for about 4,600 customers in Rio Linda and Elverta still haven’t upgraded aging infrastructure that the state warned more than two years ago is a public health threat.

The state Department of Public Health, which issued a compliance order against the Rio Linda-Elverta Community Water District district in 2007 for unhealthy conditions, issued a second such order in December. The water district has dangerously low water pressure that could lead to water contamination, according to the orders.

The plan for upgrading the aging system has been a subject of intense political battles pitting a majority of the current board against former board members and their supporters.

Voters elected several new board members in 2008 to join now-President Mary Harris on what was dubbed the “reform” slate. That new slate, which said it wanted to control spending, has been mired by political battles and distracted by contentious labor negotiations and a recent allegation of a conflict of interest against a board member. … “

February 21, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Years later, MTBE still a danger to water supply

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 19, 2010 at 8:01 am

From KGO TV:

“The additive MTBE was supposed to help air pollution by making gasoline burn cleaner in our cars, but it fouled water supplies across the state. Years after it was banned, we are still feeling the effects.

MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) was supposed to help clear air pollution by making gasoline burn cleaner. But as the I-Team showed you in the mid-90s, it ate away rubber fuel lines in cars, leading to fires and recalls. But, MTBE was not banned until the suspected carcinogen started showing up in drinking water.

“It is simply unacceptable to clean the air by polluting our groundwater,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in 1999.

Seven years after the ban, we are just beginning to understand the magnitude of the problem — groundwater contaminated by MTBE, wells that supply drinking water to the public, knocked out of service.

“On the order of 200 public supply wells in California have been affected by MTBE to the point they’ve had to be taken offline,” UC Davis Hydrologist Graham Fogg said. … “

Continue reading this story from KGO TV by clicking here.

February 19, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Watsonville’s fluoridation fight: “Today, with modern chemical testing and health studies, it might seem we’re in a position to leave this kind of water hysteria behind. But not in Watsonville,” says editorial

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 19, 2010 at 6:16 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

“During the Middle Ages, pogroms throughout Europe were instigated by rumors that Jews were poisoning the wells. Then during the Cold War, when communists became the Western world’s boogeymen, conspiracy theorists believed fluoridated water was a Red plot to destroy our society. Today, with modern chemical testing and health studies, it might seem we’re in a position to leave this kind of water hysteria behind. But not in Watsonville.

A recent push to fluoridate the water in that Santa Cruz County agricultural city has prompted a public outcry and a threat by a key employer to leave town. City voters passed an initiative to block fluoridation in 2002, but courts later ruled that the mandate violated a 1995 state law dictating that cities fluoridate their water if there is an outside source of funding available to do so. In Watsonville, that source is a foundation allied with the California Dental Assn., which is willing to put up $1.5 million to help fight a local epidemic of tooth disease. One pediatrician treating the children of migrant farmworkers in Watsonville told The Times that she had “never seen such bad teeth outside Nicaragua.” … “

February 19, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Anger fuels water-fluoridation debate in Watsonville

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 15, 2010 at 6:25 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

“The editorial in the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian offered local voters some blunt advice: “Shield your eyes,” it said, “because the City Council is preparing to spit in your face.”

That was this month, as the council inched toward finally fluoridating the city’s water — a state-mandated action that has been bitterly debated since city residents narrowly voted to block it in 2002. At a council meeting in January, an anti-fluoridation activist held up a sign alluding to Nazis. When speakers threatened to boycott local businesses if fluoridation goes through, a council member told them to jump off the parking-garage roof.

Although the argument in the Santa Cruz County agricultural town of 50,000 has raged for years, people on both sides see a resolution as urgent.

Health officials say that Watsonville, with a large population of migrant workers, is in the throes of a dental-decay epidemic. One study of local students found an average of two dental abscesses in every classroom, not to mention an outsize number of cavities. … “

February 15, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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USGS studies reveal why drinking water wells are vulnerable to contamination

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 11, 2010 at 1:50 pm

From the USGS:

“New USGS groundwater studies explain what, when, and how contaminants may reach public-supply wells.

All wells are not equally vulnerable to contamination because of differences in three factors: the general chemistry of the aquifer, groundwater age, and direct paths within aquifer systems that allow water and contaminants to reach a well.

More than 100 million people in the United States receive their drinking water from public groundwater systems, which can be vulnerable to naturally occurring contaminants such as radon, uranium, arsenic, and man-made compounds, including fertilizers, septic-tank leachate, solvents and gasoline hydrocarbons.

The USGS tracked the movement of contaminants in groundwater and in public-supply wells in four aquifers in California, Connecticut, Nebraska and Florida. … “

February 11, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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State pushes costly new water standard

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 11, 2010 at 7:56 am

From the Cal Watchdog blog:

“California water agencies face a groundbreaking proposal to eradicate — at what could be a high cost to ratepayers — all but trace levels of hexavalent chromium, the industrial byproduct made famous by the movie Erin Brockovich a decade ago.

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment draft health goal of 0.06 parts per billion of hexavalent chromium (also known as chromium VI or chromium 6) announced in 2009 would be the first step in the country to isolate, let alone shrink by three orders of magnitude, the presence of the anti-corrosive in drinking water. The federal government currently only regulates total chromium (chromium VI and beneficial chromium III) levels at 100 parts per billion. The state limit is 50 parts per billion. The cities of Burbank, Glendale and Los Angeles adopted voluntary chromium limits of 5 parts per billion.

Danielle Blacet, regulatory advocate for Sacramento-based Association of California Water Agencies, questioned the science behind the ambitious health goal. “While we recognize … the known toxicity of hexavalent chromium via inhalation… ACWA is concerned that the result of … referenced studies do not sufficiently demonstrate the human carcinogenicity of hexavalent chromium in drinking water,” Blacet said in a public letter during the comment period for the draft goal.

One study referenced by the Office of Environmental Health decision was a 2007 National Toxicology Program examination of gastrointestinal tumors in rats given varying doses of sodium dichromate dihydrate over a two-year period. It concluded that increased incidences of rare cancer in the mouth and lining of the small intestines that reduced body weight and water consumption qualified the chemical as a carcinogen when ingested. … “

February 11, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Health concerns persist about water cleanup, Rialto residents tell EPA

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 11, 2010 at 6:23 am

From the Riverside Press-Enterprise:

“The safety of drinking water in the communities near a Rialto industrial area contaminated with toxic chemicals continues to be a top concern among residents, according to public comments at a federal environmental meeting Wednesday.

Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were soliciting input on a plan to clean up pollution that has worked its way into the groundwater for miles around what is known as the 160-acre site north of Highway 210, between Alder and Locust avenues.

The primary contaminants are trichloroethylene, or TCE, an industrial solvent; and perchlorate, a chemical in rocket fuel.

The EPA wants to extract the water, treat it and ship it to suppliers for distribution to homes and businesses. The agency also is monitoring how and where the plume is moving, said Wayne Praskins, EPA project manager. … “

February 11, 2010 · Filed Under Perchlorate

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EPA to detail Rialto perchlorate plan

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 10, 2010 at 7:55 am

From the San Bernardino Sun:

“RIALTO – Officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will meet with the public Wednesday night to discuss a $29.3 million plan to pump groundwater tainted with perchlorate and remove the contaminate.

“We’re going to lay it all out there and let you know what the contamination is and what the levels are,” said Alejandro Diaz, a community involvement coordinator for the EPA.

Perchlorate is a rocket-fuel additive that in high doses can interfere with the thyroid gland. It is flowing in a southeast direction from a 160-acre site at Casa Grande Drive and Locust Avenue in the north end, where fireworks companies and defense contractors operated after World War II.

The plan is directed at the most contaminated groundwater at the site, which extends more than 1.5 miles southeast. … “

February 10, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water, Perchlorate

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Even if you’re careful, drugs can end up in water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 8, 2010 at 6:02 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

“PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government advises throwing most unused or expired medications into the trash instead of down the drain, but they can end up in the water anyway, a study from Maine suggests.

Tiny amounts of discarded drugs have been found in water at three landfills in the state, confirming suspicions that pharmaceuticals thrown into household trash are ending up in water that drains through waste, according to a survey by the state’s environmental agency that’s one of only a handful to have looked at the presence of drugs in landfills.

That landfill water – known as leachate – eventually ends up in rivers. Most of Maine doesn’t draw its drinking water from rivers where the leachate ends up, but in other states that do, water supplies that come from rivers could potentially be contaminated.

The results of the survey are being made known as lawmakers in Maine consider a bill, among the first of its kind in the nation, that would require drug manufacturers to develop and pay for a program to collect unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs from residents and dispose of them. … “

February 8, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Drought worries ease as Lake Sonoma drinking water supply hits 100 percent

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 27, 2010 at 8:10 am

From the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:

“Ten straight days of rain have pushed Sonoma County to above-average rainfall for the first time in three years, filling area reservoirs and easing drought concerns.

But the storms also flooded roads in the North Coast and produced a steady stream of power failures and falling trees that kept maintenance crews scrambling to stay ahead with rain in the forecast again today.

In Santa Rosa, 1.27 inches of rain fell in the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Monday. That brought the 10-day total to 7.68 inches and the seasonal total to 16.88 inches, exceeding the historical average of 16.21 inches for the date.

At 2 p.m. Monday, Lake Sonoma was at 97 percent of its water supply capacity. Lake Mendocino was at 82 percent. The lakes provide the majority of water to residents from Ukiah to San Rafael.

“We are in far better shape than two weeks ago,” said Mike Thompson, the Sonoma County Water Agency’s deputy chief engineer for flooding. “Lake Mendocino ideally needs to get 100 percent of water supply for us to be in good shape.” … “

Indeed, good news for Lake Sonoma – the Press-Democrat later reported that Lake Sonoma’s drinking water pool is full in this related article:

“Lake Sonoma has recovered from three years of below average rainfall, filling up its water supply pool and hitting the flood stage Tuesday for the first time in five years.

The lake hit 245,000 acre-feet at about 4 a.m. Above that level, the water is into the flood pool and can be released through Warm Springs Dam into Dry Creek and the Russian River.

The Army Corps of Engineers also now takes over the operations of the dam from the Sonoma County Water Agency for flood control purposes. … “

More of this story from the Press-Democrat by clicking here.

January 27, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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No more delays on groundwater cleanup, says editorial

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 14, 2010 at 6:02 am

From the Pasadena Star News, this editorial:

“Without a doubt, the latest snag in the ongoing San Gabriel Valley/Whittier Narrows groundwater cleanup could be huge. It has the potential to delay progress for years or add hundreds of millions of dollars to the price tag.

That’s why we can’t emphasize enough how important it is for all sides to keep meeting and iron out a solution soon.

As cleanup efforts enter the fourth decade, residents of the Valley are tired of the problem that drags on and on with incremental progress. And so are we.

But this time, unlike previous roadblocks, such as the discovery of perchlorate in the `90s that set back progress for years, we believe this problem can be solved expeditiously.

Because we believe the EPA, the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority and the companies responsible for this contamination – Northrop Grumman and United Technologies Corporation – are poised to solve this snafu and resume full cleanup in the La Puente portion of the basin. … “

January 14, 2010 · Filed Under Perchlorate

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Stronger controls urged on chemicals in water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 12, 2010 at 7:36 am

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

“Citing the decline in frogs and rise of “frankenfish,” a Bay Area environmental group filed a legal petition Monday for tighter federal standards on pollutants that disrupt the hormones of humans and wildlife.

The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Environmental Agency to beef up criteria under the Clean Water Act for pesticides, pharmaceuticals and other endocrine disruptors that leak through the water-treatment process and contaminate groundwater and drinking-water supplies.

“We’ve found that a very small concentration of these chemicals can have profound reproductive effects,” said Jeff Miller, a conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity in San Francisco. … “

January 12, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Lemoore subdivision’s water given a cloudy passing grade

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 10, 2010 at 7:34 am

From the Hanford Sentinel:

“It’s an ugly brown, and sometimes very stinky, but according to a battery of tests, the water piped to homes in Lemoore’s Cedar Nest subdivision is safe except for arsenic levels.

According to David Wlaschin, Lemoore director of public works, three sites in the subdivision, one at Well 12 and two taken from individual homes, were sampled. The results were reported to the City Council and residents, many who had complained about the quality of their water, at Tuesday’s council meeting. The water, except for arsenic levels, is safe to use.

Wlaschin said the city will continue to work on a tank at the well site and transmission lines. … “

January 10, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Eastern Municipal Water District: Water report still not accurate

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 9, 2010 at 7:37 am

From The Valley Chronicle:

“A Washington, D.C., organization that last month issued a report calling the water provided to Eastern Municipal Water District customers heavily polluted may have modified the information on its Web site, but still is not getting it right, say district officials.

Representatives of the Environmental Working Group, which rated EMWD water the fourth worst in the nation, said Wednesday that they changed their Web site to reflect numbers provided by the water district and the result was a worse picture than the one they came up with on their own.

That cannot be the case, said Eastern’s director of environmental and regulatory compliance, Jane Joy, because Eastern has not provided Environmental Work-ing Group with any figures.

“We have not talked with the Environmental Working Group since before the report came out,” she said. “We are not sure where the second set of data came from. It could be a subset of our data.” … “

January 9, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Environmental Working Group posts new data for tap water tests by Riverside Public Utilities and Eastern Municipal Water District

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 6, 2010 at 8:58 am

From the Riverside Press-Enterprise:

“The environmental group that issued a critical report about the quality of tap water from two Riverside County agencies has posted new data provided by the departments and said Tuesday it will re-run its analysis used to rank the nation’s 100 largest providers.

Officials with Riverside Public Utilities and Eastern Municipal Water District in Perris vehemently objected to last month’s report by the Environmental Working Group, which rated the agencies’ water among the worst because tests showed numerous carcinogens and other pollutants that exceeded state and federal health guidelines. They said the report was misleading because the tests included water that had not been treated for delivery to customers.

“The fault is with the Environmental Working Group. They lied about groundwater test data and represented that as tap water data,” said David Wright, general manager of Riverside Public Utilities.

“We will continue to treat our groundwater and do all this testing to make sure the water is safe to drink. That’s something we’ve always done and will continue to do,” Wright said. … “

January 6, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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The city that said ‘no’: Maywood, Calif., has become a ‘culture of participation’ to help solve its pollution problems, particularly with contaminated water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 5, 2010 at 6:43 am

From the Christian Science Monitor:

“On the Monday before Thanksgiving, Jesus Padilla flipped on the spigot in his front yard. Tea-colored water spurted out.

“We got a nightmare here,” says Mr. Padilla, a retired machinist who has lived here for 30 years. His wife, Francisca, rushed out clutching a mug of dirty water from a faucet inside.

“Every day I wash my clothes, I cook, I clean with this water!” she said. “We worry about this water all the time.”

When residents of this city in southeast Los Angeles County turn on their taps, brown, yellow, red, or even brackish black water often pours out. State regulators admit that it can stain clothes, smell or taste awful, and, on occasion, contain manganese, lead, trichloroethylene, and other contaminants. But they say it is safe. Local water district officials insist they are doing their best in a poor city that cannot afford millions to replace crumbling pipes.

Local residents aren’t surprised. “Maywood isn’t like Hollywood,” says longtime resident Jose Melendrez. “Nobody knows about us. These little places that nobody knows about, nobody cares about, so we get picked on.” … “

January 5, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water, Southern California

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Peter Gleick on saving our tap water: The problem and solution

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 28, 2009 at 7:40 am

From Peter Gleick at the City Brights blog:

“In general, tap water in the United States is remarkably safe — the envy of people in much of the rest of the world. The water-related diseases that still kill millions of people throughout the world, like cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and more, were effectively eliminated in the United States 100 years ago when we started treating our water with filtration, chlorination, and other modern water-treatment systems.

But our tap water isn’t as safe as it should, and can, be.

A December 16th article in the New York Times by Charles Duhigg called new attention to challenges facing the country’s municipal tap water system. We have known for a long time that the Safe Drinking Water Act — the nation’s law regulating contaminants in our tap water — is in need of updating and reform. We have also known for a long time that research into the health effects of many contaminants has been underfunded, slow, and piecemeal. Such research is extremely hard to do because of the vast numbers of possible chemical contaminants and the difficulty of identifying health effects of exposures to low concentrations or complex mixes of different chemicals. … “

Continue reading this post by Peter Gleick at the City Brights blog by clicking here.

December 28, 2009 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Feds mull regulating drugs in drinking water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 24, 2009 at 6:51 am

From the Associated Press:

“Federal regulators under President Barack Obama have sharply shifted course on long-standing policy toward pharmaceutical residues in the nation’s drinking water, taking a critical first step toward regulating some of the contaminants while acknowledging they could threaten human health.

A burst of significant announcements in recent weeks reflects an expanded government effort to deal with pharmaceuticals as environmental pollutants:

_ For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency has listed some pharmaceuticals as candidates for regulation in drinking water. The agency also has launched a survey to check for scores of drugs at water treatment plants across the nation.

_ The Food and Drug Administration has updated its list of waste drugs that should be flushed down the toilet, but the agency has also declared a goal of working toward the return of all unused medicines.

_ The National Toxicology Program is conducting research to clarify how human health may be harmed by drugs at low environmental levels. … “

Photo of glass of water by flickr photographer Daniel Sahlin (Creative Commons).

December 24, 2009 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Feds take first steps to regulate drugs in drinking water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 24, 2009 at 6:39 am

From Scott Dodd at the NRDC Switchboard:

“The Associated Press is reporting this week that federal regulators under President Obama are taking the first steps toward regulating drugs in the nation’s drinking water supply — a problem first reported by science writer Elizabeth Royte in “Drugging Our Waters” in OnEarth’s Fall 2006 issue.

Royte tells the story of how this nation’s aging population and increasing reliance on pharmaceuticals — some elderly Americans take as many as 30 drugs a day, she writes, and prescription drug sales rose by an annual average of 11 percent between 2000 and 2005 — leads to more drugs making their way into our lakes, rivers and groundwater. … “

December 24, 2009 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Tests set on water in Los Angeles after study ranks L.A.’s water 83rd out of 100 citie

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 23, 2009 at 6:05 am

From the Los Angeles Daily News:

“On the heels of a report claiming Los Angeles’ tap water is among the worst in the nation, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday ordered the supply retested.

The county’s Environmental Toxicology Lab, along with public works and public health officials, will re-test the water; confer with state, city and Metropolitan Water District officials; and report back to the board within 90 days.

Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said he introduced a similar motion several years ago to test for high levels of chromium 6 in local water supplies. As a result, the state and federal government are working to remove the contaminant.

“This recent report indicates we still have poor water quality and so I’ve asked the county to do another review to ensure we put public health in the forefront and restore the quality of water so it won’t be harmful to one’s health,” Antonovich said. … “

December 23, 2009 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Federal funds aid perchlorate cleanup in Rialto & Colton

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 23, 2009 at 5:56 am

From the San Bernardino Sun:

“Water agencies in Rialto, Colton and Fontana have reason to rejoice following the passage of a federal bill that will send $3.5 million their way to help clean perchlorate from water they deliver to 250,000 people in western San Bernardino County.

The bill, passed by the U.S. Senate last week, will enable the cities of Rialto and Colton, as well as the Fontana Union Water Co. and West Valley Water District, to build 10 new treatment systems that remove perchlorate, a rocket-fuel additive, from their water supplies.

Perchlorate is a naturally occurring and man-made chemical that in high doses can interfere with the thyroid gland, which regulates metabolism and brain development in fetuses and children, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

For years, city leaders in Rialto have fought to get financial assistance for perchlorate cleanup from county, state and federal officials, as well as those they hold responsible for the pollution. … “

December 23, 2009 · Filed Under Perchlorate

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Chance of Rain blog asks, Which is dirty, the water or the study?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 21, 2009 at 5:50 am

From Emily Green at the Chance of Rain blog:

“One of the recurrent themes in today’s round-up of the news highlights of the week carries troubling contradictions. Two reporters who do exemplary jobs covering their local water beats, Staci Matlock of the Santa Fe New Mexican and Janet Zimmerman of the Riverside Press Enterprise, quote local water managers saying that their water quality tests do not jibe with the ratings reported on December 12th by the Environmental Working Group, which were then later widely broadcast by the news media. … “

December 21, 2009 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Rialto, Colton, two water agencies to receive $3.5 million to help fund perchlorate cleanup

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 20, 2009 at 7:18 am

From the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin:

“The cities of Rialto, Colton and two water agencies are expected to share $3.5 million to fund 10 new water treatment systems as part a bill passed by the U.S. Sentate.

The bill, which was passed Saturday, calls for funding for water treatment systems to remove perchlorate from water used by 250,000 people in western San Bernardino County, according to the Associated Press.

The new treatment systems will clean 31 million gallons of water per day.

“Obviously, this is very welcome news for the area,” Rialto City Councilman Ed Scott said, when reached by telephone. … “

December 20, 2009 · Filed Under Perchlorate

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That tap water is legal but may be unhealthy

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 18, 2009 at 8:35 am

The New York Times continues it’s toxic water series with this:

“The 35-year-old federal law regulating tap water is so out of date that the water Americans drink can pose what scientists say are serious health risks — and still be legal.

Only 91 contaminants are regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, yet more than 60,000 chemicals are used within the United States, according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates. Government and independent scientists have scrutinized thousands of those chemicals in recent decades, and identified hundreds associated with a risk of cancer and other diseases at small concentrations in drinking water, according to an analysis of government records by The New York Times.

But not one chemical has been added to the list of those regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act since 2000.

Other recent studies have found that even some chemicals regulated by that law pose risks at much smaller concentrations than previously known. However, many of the act’s standards for those chemicals have not been updated since the 1980s, and some remain essentially unchanged since the law was passed in 1974. … “

RELATED: Check out this slideshow from the New York Times, In Los Angeles, a struggle over water quality

December 18, 2009 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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LADWP statement regarding Environmental Working Group’s water quality rankings report

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 18, 2009 at 7:16 am

From the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power:

“The recently issued Environmental Working Group (EWG) water quality rankings report gives readers the impression that Los Angeles’ drinking water is less than the highest quality and states that LADWP exceeds the legal limits for various chemicals or chemical compounds in our water. Both summations are incorrect.

Interested parties are encouraged to read the analysis and report featured on the front page of the December 17, 2009 issue of the New York Times, which lauds LADWP’s efforts to protect our water supply and go beyond what is required by law.

The water we provide our customers meets or exceeds all state and federal guidelines for water quality and is not in violation of legal limits, as the report claims and LADWP does not stop at what is legally required, we frequently exceed state and federal standards.

Providing the highest quality drinking water day in and day out is at the very core of our existence. In doing so, we actively monitor and anticipate emerging water quality issues and take proactive steps to address them. As such, we perform over 300,000 water quality tests each year, not just for compliance, but also for research, and operational improvements.

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December 18, 2009 · Filed Under Drinking Water, Southern California

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Sacramento cleans up in U.S. municipal clean-water rankings

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 16, 2009 at 7:37 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

” Do you drink the water? If you live in the city of Sacramento, you probably should, according to a new report on municipal water quality.

Sacramento has the best tap water among large cities west of the Rockies, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. The capital city even beat San Francisco, long fabled for the purity of its source water in Yosemite National Park.

Sacramento’s drinking water also comes from the sacred snows of the Sierra Nevada, a fact that seems lost on residents who prefer bottled water, despite its higher cost and less-certain quality.

City Councilman Kevin McCarty drinks the water. He confessed that as a child growing up in Sacramento, he drank it mostly from a garden hose. “We have great water,” said McCarty. “With this news, I would think even more people would say it certainly is a smart choice as far as your health and your pocketbook.” … “

December 16, 2009 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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U.S. drinking water widely contaminated; EPA finds 202 unregulated chemicals in 45 states

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 15, 2009 at 8:12 am

From Scientific American:

“A three-year study of the nation’s drinking water quality has found more than 200 unregulated chemicals in the tap water of 45 states.

The Environmental Working Group analysis of 20 million tap water quality tests found a total of 316 contaminants — including industrial solvents, weed killers, refrigerants and the rocket fuel component perchlorate — in water supplied to the public between 2004 and 2009.

U.S. EPA regulates 114 of those pollutants, setting maximum legal levels that water utilities achieved 92 percent of the time, according to the study. … “

Picture by flickr photographer tsja! (Creative Commons).

December 15, 2009 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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LA’s water quality ranks low among large US cities; Sacramento tap water rated best

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 15, 2009 at 8:07 am

From Water World:

“The quality of Los Angeles’ drinking water ranks among the lowest of large U.S. cities and contains nearly four times the average number of chemical pollutants, according to a study released Monday that drew criticism from water suppliers.

The environmental report rated Department of Water and Power drinking water at 83rd out of 100 water agencies because of its cocktail of 30 chemical contaminants.

One cancer-causing chemical exceeded federal legal standards while 14 other chemicals surpassed recommended health guidelines, according to the report.

In comparison, the agency that supplies potable water to 19 million residents in L.A. suburbs – including about two-thirds of the South Bay – ranked 58th. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California tap water contained 27 chemicals, most of them unregulated and legal, but potentially unsafe.

“Looking at the data, we’re definitely concerned about water quality in Southern California. We recommend utilities really look at their processing. There’s much room for improvement,” said Olga Naidenko, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental watchdog based in Washington, D.C., and a co- author of the report.

“We recommend residents get water filters.” … “

From the Sacramento Bee:

“A national research and lobbying group has ranked Sacramento’s tap water as the best in California and 18th-best in the nation.

The Environmental Working Group ranked the water of big cities with populations of more than 250,000. The municipal water was tested by the environmental group for a variety of qualities, including number of chemicals detected since 2004, percentage of chemicals found of those tested and the highest average level for a pollutant.

Taking first place was Arlington, Texas. Texas placed four cities in the top 12.

Sacramento also finished behind Honolulu, which came in sixth and Minneapolis, which placed 10th. But Sacramento’s water tested better than rainy Seattle, rated 25th, and Hetch Hetchy-fed San Francisco at 33rd. … “

December 15, 2009 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Two Inland water agencies take issue with report critical of supplies delivered to consumers

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 15, 2009 at 7:32 am

From the Riverside Press-Enterprise:

“The Inland area has some of the nation’s most contaminated drinking water, according to an environmental group’s analysis showing that supplies from Riverside Public Utilities and Eastern Municipal Water District contain toxic pollutants that exceed government health thresholds.

The primary concern in both districts is perchlorate, an ingredient in rocket fuel and other explosives that disrupts thyroid function and is of particular concern for pregnant women and children.

Some of the tests also showed pesticides, arsenic, radioactive elements, hexavalent chromium and disinfectant byproducts, all of them carcinogens, said Richard Wiles, senior vice president for policy at the Environmental Working Group in Washington.

“The number of pollutants in the water is shocking,” he said. “It’s safe to say people shouldn’t be drinking this water over the long term.” … “

December 15, 2009 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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What’s in the water?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 12, 2009 at 8:40 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

“What’s in the water? Lots of stuff, according to the Environmental Working Group.

The public interest organization has created an online database of water quality test results from 45 states.

The group’s analysis of utility information found that water agencies across the country have detected a total of more than 300 pollutants in supplies, more than half of which are not regulated by the government.

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set enforceable drinking water safety standards for only 114 of the 316 substances detected,” the group says in a report released today. … “

December 12, 2009 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Santa Clarita’s toxic water to be cleaned; Perchlorate-contaminated wells, closed in 1997, could provide safe water in a few months

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 12, 2009 at 6:55 am

From the Santa Clarita Signal:

“Two Saugus water wells were shut down more than a decade ago because they were contaminated with perchlorate, a toxic byproduct of rocket fuel production. But soon, they might be running again.

Within about four months, the Castaic Lake Water Agency expects to open a new, $20 million water treatment plant and pipeline system that will pump safe drinking water from those wells.

The plant is set to open in March, said Brian Folsom, engineering and operations manager for the water agency. The state Department of Public Health still has to certify the plant. … “

December 12, 2009 · Filed Under Perchlorate, Southern California

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