Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Did you know you're drinking recycled water?

That's right, the water you drink has been used by someone else, and it's not all cleaned up.

So those hormones and blood pressure drugs and everything else that people take is coming atcha in your water. And if you're a man's man, it might just turn you into David Beckham. Except without the Spice Girl wife. And without the wicked kick.

What happens with the drugs we use to stay well, be happy, and avoid pregnancy? More and more, we're finding them in rivers and fish, and they create unique and unpleasant problems like "intersex" fish," with male AND female traits).

The latest news is that those drugs and hormones are in our drinking water, not just our rivers. It ain't just fish that gotta worry, it's us too.

Don't think that bottled water will save you, by now you should know that it's not necessarily any safer. It's often just tap water with an attitude.

All water is recycled, because we all live downstream from somebody. (Well, actually not me, but I did that on purpose.) That means you're drinking used water, and if you're really unlucky it's been used many times. Do you trust their sewage and septic systems?

Now there's a new concern in reusing water, our medicines, drugs, and yes, hormone pills.

The water cleanup we use is only designed to get rid of the major risks, and it works pretty well. Bugs that cause disease are mostly cleared from waste, and we mostly don't get sick. At least that's true in the wealthy world. But our cleanup doesn't get rid of everything.

So drink up! And drop me a comment if you're a manly man who's turning female, I might be able to tell you why.

1 comment:

Miriam Goldstein said...

This is why I don't understand why SoCal gets so upset about water recycling (or the dread "toilet to tap.") All that Rio Grande water has been through quite a few toilets before it gets to us. And it seems totally ridiculous to only use it once, then pump it out in the Pacific.