Trace amounts of pharmaceuticals are present in Colorado Springs' water supply, testing has shown, but the water is not believed to be harmful based on current science.

Colorado Springs and other cities tested their water supplies after The Associated Press investigated the presence of pharmaceuticals in the nation's waterways. AP reports that at least 46 million people in the U.S. are drinking water with at least minute amounts of pharmaceuticals in it.

Steve Berry, spokesman for Colorado Springs Utilities, said 13 compounds were detected in one of its three water systems, including a tranquilizer, hormone and methadone.

Measured in parts per trillion, the amount of the compounds is analogous to one second in 32,000 years.

"We don't want to create unnecessary alarm," Berry said, "but at the same time we have a responsibility as a municipal utility to communicate with our customers and let them know."

The compounds were found in both the raw and treated water of the Fountain Valley Water system, which brings water from Pueblo Reservoir. The Homestake System, which relies on a reservoir near Leadville, and the Blue River System, which brings water from the Breckenridge area, did not test positive.

Berry said that utilities officials were not overly concerned about how Colorado Springs water would fare because so much of it comes from snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains.

But Pueblo Reservoir, he said, pulls water from the Arkansas farther downstream, after it passes through several towns, including Cañon City. Despite the findings, Pueblo Reservoir is a clean source of water, he said.

The AP stories prompted federal and local legislative hearings, brought about calls for mandatory testing and disclosure, and led officials in at least 27 additional metropolitan areas to analyze their drinking water after the initial reporting. Colorado Springs was one of 17 cases where positive tests were reported. Others included Reno, Nev., Savannah, Ga., and Huntsville, Ala.

The AP reported in March that about 41 million Americans were drinking water with trace amounts of medications and other substances. The new test results, added to data from communities and water utilities, added 5 million more people to that total.

The overwhelming majority of U.S. cities have not tested drinking water for pharmaceuticals.Water in eight cities - including Boston, Phoenix and Seattle - showed no traces of medication.

"We didn't think we'd find anything because our water comes from a pristine source, but after the AP stories we wanted to make sure and reassure our customers," said Andy Ryan, spokesman for Seattle Public Utilities.

The substances detected in the latest tests mirrored those cited in the earlier AP report.
Chicago, for example, found a cholesterol medication and a nicotine derivative. Many cities found the anti-convulsant carbamazepine.

Bruce Grubb, water director in Fargo, N.D., said the concentrations of three drugs detected there were so incredibly minute - parts per trillion - that he sent them to the local health officer to figure out how to interpret the information for the community.

"We plan to put this into some kind of context other than just scientific nomenclature, so folks can get some level of understanding about what it means," said Grubb.

Berry said it would be too expensive to eliminate the compounds from the water because the amount is so minute. It is only within the last several years that testing has become advanced enough to detect chemicals at such low levels. Still, he said water suppliers will be discussing what to do with the findings and what they may ultimately mean.

The drug residues detected in water supplies are generally flushed into sewers and waterways through human excretion. Many of the pharmaceuticals are known to slip through sewage and drinking water treatment plants.

While the comprehensive risks are still unclear, researchers are finding evidence that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species in the wild and impair the workings of human cells in the laboratory.

And while the new survey expands the known extent of the problem, the overwhelming majority of U.S. communities have yet to test, including the single largest water provider in the country, New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, which delivers water to 9 million people.

In April, New York City Council members insisted during an emergency hearing that their drinking water be tested. But DEP officials subsequently declared that "the testing of finished tap water is not warranted at this time."

Brian Newsome of The Gazette contributed to this report.

SUBSTANCES IN OUR WATER

The following compounds were detected in trace amounts in Colorado Springs' water:
• Atrazine
• Caffeine
• Carbamazepine
• DEET
• Diazepam
• Estriol
• Fluoxetine
• Meprobamate
• Methadone
• Oxybenzone
• Sulfamethoxazole
• Testerone
• Trimethoprim