When I moved back to Virginia from Chicago, one of the first things I did was brush my teeth. Compared to the rusty-tasting water I'd resigned myself to in a charming but older building in Chicago, the tap water in my home was pure sweetness. But is there a real difference in the quality of water between the suburb where I grew up, and the city where I lived?
According to a study conducted by the Environmental Working Group, the water utility in Fairfax County, VA ranks at No. 8 nationwide in terms of effectiveness, based on the number of chemicals detected and other criteria. The EWG reports that Fairfax County Water found at least six contaminants in drinking water found to exceed existing health limits, including barium and chloroform. Chicago, IL is #34 in the EWG's rankings. The EWG lists 14 contaminants, including lead, arsenic, and radium, found by the Chicago Department of Water Management to exceed existing health limits.
Health limits for a contaminant and legal limits which determine a water authority's compliance over time can differ.
The Fairfax County Water Authority's 2009 report on drinking water asserts that while the contaminants listed in EWG's report were found in drinking water, the water authority is still in compliance with guidelines on the presence of contaminants.
Many of the substances found in drinking water in many urban areas, including progesterone and various pharmaceutical substances, are highly regulated in doses for medication, but are not held to any guided amount in drinking water. In 2008, a representative of the EPA stated that "We recognize it [pharmaceuticals in drinking water sic] is a growing concern, and we're taking it very seriously," when the Washington Post released a story about pharmaceuticals in drinking water.
Yet two years later, the EPA and the federal government have yet to issue guidelines on the regulation or the removal of pharmaceuticals from drinking water. The removal of drugs from water then falls to water authorities, which hopefully use ozonation to break up organic compounds, a process that is more effective at removing medication from water than chlorination. The Fairfax County Water Authority states that more research is needed to understand the impact of low-level medication in water on human health in order to develop better solutions to removal and prevention.
While more research might be needed, I wonder how much long it will take before any new regulation on water pollution is actually in place.
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