Contaminants raise disturbing questions

By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Originally published 02:19 p.m., March 10, 2008
Updated 12:23 a.m., March 11, 2008

Antibiotics and lotions, pills and hormones foul Colorado's water, from the most pristine alpine lakes to the downstream rivers, say water experts.

An Associated Press report says research indicates the chemicals could harm humans, but there is no question that the medicines and personal-care products in the rivers and streams are greatly transforming the fish population, right here on the Front Range.

Below the wastewater treatment plant in Boulder, female suckers outnumber male suckers 5-to-1, likely from ingesting estrogen in the streams, said Alan Vajda, a research associate in integrated physiology at the University of Colorado.

Males have egg-yolk proteins in their systems, low sperm counts and intersex gonads.

Downstream from Denver on the South Platte River, female fish also greatly outnumber the males, he said.

Pristine areas affected

It's a challenge that could rival mill tailings and agricultural waste in the battle to keep water safe for drinking and for wildlife.

"These contaminants, we're finding them everywhere," Steven Gunderson, director of Colorado's Water Quality Control Division, said Monday. "Shampoos, conditioners, lotions - we're finding them in pristine areas, all these chemicals we use in everyday life.

"There are literally hundreds of them," Gunderson added. "We're still trying to get our hands around this."

Water treatment plants weren't built to weed out antibiotics and, apparently, they're not.

Mixed opinions

Denver Water two years ago was surprised to find that it wasn't immune from this new national problem when it first tested its upstream surface water supplies for the presence of antibiotics, manager Brian Good said.

"I wouldn't have been surprised to see it in New Orleans," the last big city downstream on the Mississippi, he said.

Good and Gunderson will confidently keep drinking quarts of Colorado water every day.

"The water quality in Colorado is outstanding," Gunderson said. "We have the benefit of being the headwaters of the nation."

Vajda isn't quite so sure. He notes that Aurora is one of the big cities downstream from Denver's wastewater treatment plant, and that the water downstream from the plant is mostly effluent. "I would be concerned," he said.

Solution not near

Trouble is, there's no easy or obvious solution.

Buy bottled water? Most of that is just chilled tap water, and even if it's from aquifers, groundwater isn't immune from the traces of antibiotics and hormones.

Remove the contaminants at treatment plants? Research is advancing - Denver Water contributes $100,000 a year - but so far there's no silver bullet.

The new $30 million wastewater treatment plant just below Boulder will be an improvement over the old when it goes online next year, says Bret Linenfelser, coordinator of Boulder's water quality and environmental services. And while it wasn't built to capture antibiotics, it probably will do a better job at that than its predecessor.

People shouldn't overreact to the revelation that there is some nasty stuff in the water, say water managers.

For one thing, detection devices are so good now they can find chemicals in the parts-per-trillion range, which is the concentration of many of the contaminants in the AP report.

"The concentrations are incredibly small," Good said, noting that a few parts per trillion is equivalent to a single drop of a contaminant in 20 Olympic- sized pools.

Overmedicating eyed

No one is ready to say that concentrations that low are nothing to worry about, but the assumption is that most healthy people can shrug off those amounts.

The concern is more for pregnant women, fetuses in the womb, youngsters going through puberty, people with weak immune systems and the elderly.

Meanwhile, there are a few lessons to be learned.

The contamination is one more good reason to stop overmedicating, say water experts. That means consumers shouldn't pester their doctors for antibiotics when the ailment is likely a virus; and doctors shouldn't bow to patient pressure to prescribe something if it's not going to do any good.

"Nobody really knows what all this stuff means," Good said. "We all need to be aware about the choices we make."

The solution probably will be a combination of reducing use of the chemical-laced products and finding a better way to capture the contaminants at the treatment plants, he said.

"We share this planet and we impact this planet."

• March 10, 2008

  3:21 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  T1anda writes:

  HMMMMM.... Wonder who the bottled water companys paid to "reveal" this interesting bit of news???

• March 10, 2008

  4:03 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  gidngord writes:

  Imagine the other contaminants and germs we’re exposed to everyday. If they would measure those things and publicize them we would probably all just stay inside our houses. Oh no wait, there is our tap water, and indoor air pollution, and who knows what else.................. Never mind

• March 10, 2008

  4:47 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Squatch writes:

  Any HGH?

• March 10, 2008

  5:11 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Brain writes:

  I'm buying stock in water filters right now!

• March 10, 2008

  5:23 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  SASQUATCH writes:

  Now you tell me? I brush my teeth in that water, I bathe in that water, I clean my feet in that water, I scrub every glorious inch of my oversized, sweaty and hairy body in that water...I'm never going to attend to my personal hygine in Chatfield Res. again...never!

• March 10, 2008

  9:09 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  windbourne writes:

  Added a whole house filter to my houses for the last 10 years, as well as small filter on the drinking faucet. Everybody said it was crazy to do that. But not only does it remove the chlorine, but it will remove the bulk of the drugs, the mercury, lead, etc. from the water. Well worth the price.

• March 10, 2008

  10:41 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Sailor writes:

  Finally! Someone has revealed the truth about the City of Aurora's upcoming "Prairies Water." Residents of Aurora will be drinking wastewater effluent from the Littleton-Englewood Plant , the Denver Metro Plant , and the South Adams County Plant that flows through the City in the South Platte River, along with all the unspeakable garbage from Clear Creek, and enters Aurora's water system. People just don't realize that at certain times of the year, the plant effluent flow IS the river - there's no actual water in the river to dilute the waste. As a result, every toilet, every crack house, every hospital in the metro area will discharge its filth into Aurora's "new" (read, "used") water supply. Every glass of water consumed will come, in part, from someone else's toilet - which is why it's called "toilet-to-tap" in the industry. But the wastewater is treated, right? Wrong! - Only partially. The pollutants referred to in this news article remain untreated, even after the subsequent "drinking" water treatment using proposed ultraviolet radiation and H2O2. These pollutants include xenobiotics, endocrine disruptors, hormone (estrogen), superbugs, etc. The pollutant amounts are "trace," yet still sufficiently strong to cause fish to change gender, as stressed species often do for survival. This is what Aurora wants you and your family to drink! And don't expect any protection from CDPHE (the cowards at the State Health Dept who avoid confronting the issue, claiming the pollutants are not regulated and therefore they can't do anything to protect you). So Aurora moves forward with this unhealthful water (for as long as they can get away with it) and force it on its residents at outrageous monthly costs, as well as an upfront $800 million price tag for the partial treatment. All Aurora residents should try to stop the City's madness - there ARE better alternatives that actually cost less. The City pushed this dirt water plan through without the INFORMED consent of its residents. At the very least, consider protecting your family with an in-house reverse osmosis water barrier. And DO NOT drink the water, tea, coffee, etc in Aurora restaurants, especially if you live in the Southlands area! Keep informed - it's the only way to protect yourself from the City's agenda.

• March 11, 2008

  6:58 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  vudumom writes:

  I have heard and read that there is nothing we can do about the contaminates.Most bottled water gets there water from our water.No water filters on the market filter out these chemicals.So right now I think there is alot of room for bottled water companies and water filter companies to take advantage of people out there.This is kinda scary,but have they ever tested the water before for these chemicals?Have they tested bottled waters yet?Have they tested all the water filters on the market to see if they are filtering out the chemicals?I've heard the water filters cannot filter out these type of chemicals.So what is the answer?

• March 11, 2008

  9:24 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  xeeian writes:

  Windbourne,

  Yeah, your 20$US water filter is going to filter out stuff measured in parts per trillion.

  Faith is an important in ensuring the efficacy of any placebo.