Pharmaceuticals Reported To Be Found In Drinking Water

Long Beach officials are downplaying reports that pharmaceuticals have been found in drinking water, saying the tests were done far from the city.

The Associated Press released the nationwide report last Monday. Southern California and Long Beach were listed among the areas where levels of prescription drugs were found in the water supply.

A Metropolitan Water District treatment plant in the San Fernando Valley was the location of the test. Long Beach, along with many other Southern California cities, purchase some water from MWD.

The drugs found at the plant were Mebprobamatem, an anti-anxiety medication and Phenytoin, an anti-epileptic medication. Both were found in parts-per-trillion levels — meaning it would take drinking millions of gallons of water in one day to come near the dosage for a single pill.

The Long Beach Water Department has never sampled for these two particular pharmaceutical compounds, the department said in a release. However, it did participate with the United States Geological Survey in a study conducted in 2006 in which three of the city’s active groundwater wells were sampled for many different trace pharmaceutical, steroid and pesticide compounds. None of these compounds were detected.

The AP report said the presence of drugs in the water was explained to traces making their way through sewer, water treatment, then into the groundwater and back into the water supply.

There currently are no regulations or standards for pharmaceutical drugs in drinking water. Kevin Wattier, Long Beach Water Department general manager, said the department would continue to closely monitor all aspects of water quality, however.

—Harry Saltzgaver