Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Additionally, some agricultural products and medications may
have run off into groundwater supplies.
In addition to antibiotics and steroids, the EPA has identifi ed
over one hundred individual pharmaceuticals and personal care
products (PPCPs) in environmental samples and drinking water.
Wastewater treatment plants appear to be unable to remove
pharmaceuticals from the water completely. The presence of
the pharmaceuticals in our nation's waters raises serious questions
about the effects on human health and wildlife.
Currently the EPA, working with public input, is looking at
how to what it calls “reinvigorate” its approach to clean water.
(Check out developments in EPA's “. . . Strategy for Clean Water”
at http://blog.epa.gov/waterforum/.) Congress also continues
to work to toughen rules related to the Clean Water Act, and to
pass new laws that address some of the country's pressing water
issues. In addition, as discussed earlier, the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama on
February 17, 2009, allocates billions of dollars for water-related
environmental, cleanup, and infrastructure needs.
WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN HURT YOU
Meanwhile, health threats—real and unknown—continue to infi l-
trate the water that Americans across the country drink.
Not All Contaminants Are Man-Made
People, business, and industry aren't solely to blame for water pol-
lution and contamination. Some of the most deadly contaminants
come from Mother Nature, too. What's in water supplies often
depends on what's in the surrounding rocks. As water is sucked
out of certain rocks, naturally occurring minerals dissolved in the
water are pulled out, too, and not all those minerals are good for
you. In addition to arsenic, selenium, and radium mentioned pre-
viously, other naturally occurring minerals like uranium and vari-
ous salts can seep into underground water supplies, especially in
aquifers that have been drawn down signifi cantly. The Arkansas
River, which crosses parts of the mineral-rich Rocky Mountains in
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