Drinking water: Utilities report contaminants that are legal, but exceed health levels
What's in our drinking water?
Tap water quality reports for every U.S. ZIP code, including the Treasure Coast, were released this month by the independent nonprofit Environmental Working Group. The data comes from testing done by about 50,000 local water utilities, according to EWG.
U.S. water utilities found 324 unique contaminants and pollutants in their drinking water, EWG's analysis of their data shows. That's an increase from 268 in 2019, EWG says.
Many Treasure Coast communities' tap water contains contaminants in excess of what science considers "safe," although it meets federal legal guidelines, EWG says.
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"A lot of these legal limits were set decades ago," Sydney Evans, an EWG science analyst who helped create the drinking water database, told TCPalm in an interview.
"As time has gone on, more and more research has been done on the health effects," Evans said. "We've been able to link (lower concentrations of contaminants) — through updated science — to more long-term health and chronic health effects."
Disinfectants added to drinking water, for instance, are meant to kill viruses and bacteria, but they have complicated byproducts that, when consumed over decades, can have long-tern health effects such as cancer, Evans said.
Among those byproducts are total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and haloacetic acids (HAA5 and HAA9). Violations occur when quarterly tests top an average of 80 parts per billion for TTHM and 60 ppb for HAA5. There are no legal regulations for HAA9.
Arsenic in your drinking water
Another example is arsenic, a naturally occurring mineral found in drinking water in all 50 states that has been linked to cancer: lung, bladder and skin, according to EWG.
In Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties, arsenic levels often exceed EWG's health standard of 0.004 parts per billion, sometimes by 100 times, although they meet federal thresholds. One part per billion is similar to a drop of ink in an Olympic swimming pool.
EWG's standard, which some critics say is too conservative, is based on peer-reviewed science from health agencies such as the California Office of Environmental Assessment, Evans said.
"Legal does not necessarily equal safe. Getting a passing grade from the federal government does not mean the water meets the latest health guidelines," the EWG wrote on its database. "Legal limits for contaminants in tap water have not been updated in almost 20 years. The best way to ensure clean tap water is to keep pollution out of source water in the first place."
What's in your drinking water?
TCPalm examined the top three drinking water providers in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties, which serve over 538,000 people, according to the EWG analysis.
The nonprofit also examines data on a more granular level, including mobile home parks in Fort Pierce and Stuart. Visit ewg.org/tapwater to learn more.
Below is what the EWG data shows for nine Treasure Coast utilities:
Indian River County Utilities
122,537: People served
16: Contaminants detected
7: Contaminants exceeding EWG health guidelines
EWG says this is how many times higher these contaminants were:
297: Trihalomethanes
194: HAA9
62: HAA5
44: Arsenic
22: Chromium
14: Radium
2½: Chlorate
Vero Beach
37,308: People served
13: Contaminants detected
4: Contaminants exceeding EWG health guidelines.
EWG says this is how many times higher these contaminants were:
853: HAA9
344: HAA5
339: Trihalomethanes
17: Chromium
Fellsmere
4,465: People served
9: Contaminants detected
3: Contaminants exceeding EWG health guidelines.
EWG says this is how many times higher these contaminants were:
362: HAA5
201: Trihalomethanes
10: Radium
Port St. Lucie Utilities
157,943: People served
13: Contaminants detected
5: Contaminants exceeding EWG health guidelines
EWG says this is how many times higher these contaminants were:
376: HAA9
187: Trihalomethanes
158: HAA5
31: Arsenic
Over 2: Chromium
Fort Pierce Utilities Authority
58,000: People served
15: Contaminants detected
6: Contaminants exceeding EWG health guidelines
EWG says this is how many times higher these contaminants were:
441: Radium
258: HAA5
233: Trihalomethanes
194: HAA9
81: Arsenic
Nearly 4: Chromium
Over 2½: Chlorate
St. Lucie West Utilities
16,795: People served
9: Contaminants detected
3: Contaminants exceeding EWG health guidelines
EWG says this is how many times higher these contaminants were:
167: HAA5
105: Trihalomethanes
95: HAA9
Martin County Utilities
95,229: People served
14: Contaminants detected
6: Contaminants exceeding EWG health guidelines
EWG says this is how many times higher these contaminants were:
716: HAA9
347: HAA5
281: Trihalomethanes
100: Arsenic
Over 6: Radium
Nearly 2½: Chromium
South Martin Regional Utilities
27,000: People served
13: Contaminants detected
6: Contaminants exceeding EWG health guidelines.
EWG says this is how many times higher these contaminants were:
256: HAA9
210: HAA5
82: Trihalomethanes
26: Radium
Over 3: Chlorate
Almost 3: Nitrate
Stuart
19,000: People served
44: Contaminants detected
13: Contaminants exceeding EWG health guidelines.
EWG says this is how many times higher these contaminants were:
635: HAA9
243: Trihalomethanes
236: HAA5
160: Perflurooctane sulfonate
79: Chloroform
72: Perflurohexane sulfonate
51: Bromodichloromethane
25: Arsenic
14: Perflurononanoic acid
10: Chromium
Nearly 10: Vinyl chloride
Over 3: Radium
Over 2: Nitrate and nitrite
For more news, follow Max Chesnes on Twitter.
Max Chesnes is a TCPalm environment reporter focusing on issues facing the Indian River Lagoon, St. Lucie River and Lake Okeechobee. You can keep up with Max on Twitter @MaxChesnes, email him at max.chesnes@tcpalm.com and give him a call at 772-978-2224.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Drinking water: Environmental Working Group cites excess contaminants