Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products

Drugs in Drinking Water:

There has been a lot of coverage in the press lately about finding traces of prescription drugs and other personal care products in rivers across the nation and around the world. But did you know that the US Geological Survey performed a study right here in Deschutes County to study how these compounds and viruses move through soil and groundwater? The study first sampled septic tanks to find out what pharmaceuticals are found in septic tank discharges. Then the study looked at how well soils treat for drugs, bacteria and viruses. What the USGS found was that soil does a great job at removing pharmaceuticals, personal care products and microscopic organisms. The USGS completed a study in south Deschutes County in 2005 where one of the main findings was that samples taken right below septic system drainfields "demonstrated that organic wastewater compounds are mostly attenuated after unsaturated-zone transport of 1 foot." This report is available online here.

Research & Information: