Few Texas utilities test water supply
Because federal and state regulators don't require public water utilities to test for pharmaceuticals in the water supply, few Texas utilities, including utilities in the Rio Grande Valley, test for it. Yet.
A Valley Freedom Newspapers survey of seven water utilities in the region found that none of these suppliers test for traces of medications in their water supplies. Utility managers said their systems abide by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Environmental Protection Agency rules, and so they monitor only those chemicals and contaminants that are federally regulated.
But that could change soon, said Darrell Gunn, general manager for Harlingen WaterWorks System.
"Everyone is waiting to see which pharmaceuticals (we need to test for), and what TCEQ and the EPA say," Gunn said. "Right now, we wouldn't know what to test for. There's no magic test that tests for everything."
Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, water systems must test regularly for a long list of contaminants, including certain types of bacteria, arsenic, nitrate, and compounds that herald the presence of herbicides and pesticides. Water systems must also report the level of disinfectants in the water to ensure the level is adequate to kill harmful bacteria, said Alicia Diehl, TCEQ drinking water-quality team leader.
Depending on the quality of the original water source, water suppliers sometimes must add disinfectants like chlorine to sanitize the water. For most Valley water systems, the source is the Rio Grande.
Regulators still aren't sure if traces of medications appear frequently enough or at high-enough levels in drinking water to pose a health risk, Diehl said.
"The EPA has to determine (that medications) are there, and that they cause a quantifiable health effect, before regulating them," she said.
EPA considered including nearly 300 pharmaceuticals on a list of contaminants that might be regulated, but only one, nitroglycerine, actually made the list. The agency likely will consider looking at regulating more medications in the future, Diehl said.
"They will be collecting data on pharmaceuticals and other products, like caffeine, to find out what kind of levels are occurring," she said.
For now, many water suppliers might find it too costly to test for the myriad of drugs that people take, TCEQ officials said. The utility's customers would be the ones absorbing that cost, Diehl said.
Water utilities said they are waiting for more guidance from environmental agencies.
"There are thousands of drugs out there ... we need to know what to test for," Gunn said.
The Valley suppliers surveyed were:
·Harlingen WaterWorks System - no testing
·Brownsville Public Utilities Board - no testing
·McAllen Public Utility - no testing
·Edinburg - no testing
·Raymondville - no testing
·Rio Grande City - no testing
·Weslaco - no testing
·Military Highway Water Supply Corporation - no testing
