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The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans newly released report on the state of tap water in New Orleans had some interesting findings: our water system has a susceptibility rating of high.  While they determined that the presence of lead in our tap water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and the plumbing in our homes, they also calculated how various contaminants and Cryptosporidium get into our drinking water at the source.

Contaminants present in source water include:

• Microbial ~ viruses and bacteria that may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife
• Inorganic ~ salts and metals that can result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater, oil and gas production, mining, or farming
• Pesticides and herbicides
• Organic chemicals including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, known as byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production that can also come from gas stations, stormwater runoff, and septic systems
• Radioactive contaminants as a result of oil and gas production and mining

While the EPA prescribes regulations limiting the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems, some people may be more vulnerable to bacterias like Cryptosporidium and should seek a dvice about drinking water from their health care providers.

What is Cryptosporidium? It is a microscopic organism which, if ingested,   can cause diarrhea, nausea, cramps, fever and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Found in animal waste and sewage, it washes into rivers and streams when it rains. A healthy person will feel better within two or three days; however, cryptosporidiosis can be very serious for people with severely weakened immune systems, such as chemotherapy, transplant patients and people with HIV infections.  The Sewerage and Water Board has been monitoring Cryptosporidium since 1993, and has not been detected in tap water samples.

To learn more about the water you  drink, whether tap or bottled, visit the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans or call the U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

The next Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans Board meeting will be June 17th at 10am, you can view their meeting LIVE on their website:

www.swbnola.org

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 6:28 am and is filed under Green House. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.