Statement on Associated Press Report Finding Pharmaceuticals in Water Supplies
Gigi Kellett, Corporate Accountability International, National Director of the Think Outside the Bottle campaign
For Immediate Release:
March 10, 2008
Contacts:
Nick Guroff (617) 447-2507
“This report calls necessary attention to an emerging concern health researchers have been monitoring for several years – that trace amounts of pharmaceuticals can be found throughout the water cycle, from the groundwater that feeds wells and springs to city drinking water systems. While these trace amounts have not yet been shown to have significant negative impacts on people’s health, the possibility of future adverse health effects is a call to action.
“Public drinking water systems in the U.S. are among the most regulated in the world and are more closely monitored, tested and evaluated by independent sources than bottled water operations. However, these initial findings reported by the Associated Press yesterday underscore the real need for further investment in our public water systems – to make sure that the water systems that serve us have the tools necessary to reduce or eliminate such unwanted contaminants.
“One important piece of information that was missing from the Associated Press study is the degree to which these trace chemicals may be also found in bottled water supplies. This is surprising, given that up to 40% of bottled water on the market is sourced from tap water, and that at least 20% of Americans – perhaps more – use bottled water as their primary source of drinking water.
“The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) does not currently require water utilities or water bottlers to monitor levels of these types of pharmaceuticals in their water supplies, so in order to know more about this potential problem, it seems wise to include all current sources of drinking water in this discussion.
“And while the AP report suggests there may be more monitoring and testing that needs to be done by our public water systems, so far there is at least a working model to make disclosure of that future testing possible. Public water systems are already required to provide consumers water quality reports.
“Yet, when it comes to bottled water safety, all we know is what private corporations tell us – which isn’t much. Leading bottlers, like Coca-Cola, have even refused to give consumers water quality reports comparable to that of public water systems. How can we now expect these same corporations to give consumers reliable information on other potential contaminants? It’s time that we stop letting water bottlers self-police, and start asking them to answer to the legitimate concerns of their consumers.
“Congress can take immediate action by updating the SDWA contaminant monitoring list and requiring bottled water to meet the same high standards for water quality and reporting as required of public water systems.”
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