Identifying and addressing contaminated water in our area

Perceptions do not always equal reality. Water is Vida. However when contaminants enter the water, water equals sickness and death. Do you really want to know whats in your water? There is a National Zip Code Tool you can use online to find out the results of national water testing in your area at ewg.org/tapwater.

Here are the results I found for Taos County. There are 18 total contaminants found in Taos County, and six exceed health guidelines. The six have to do with byproducts of fertilizer, cleaning products and nuclear waste (this pertains to the six that are above the health guidelines). Here they are:

• Arsenic was found at 28 times above EWG’s Health Guideline. Arsenic is a potent carcinogen and common contaminant in drinking water. Arsenic causes thousands of cases of cancer each year in the U.S.

• Dibromoacetic acid was found at 2.2 times above EWG’s Health Guideline. Dibromoacetic acid, one of the group of five haloacetic acids regulated by federal standards, is formed when chlorine or other disinfectants are used to treat drinking water. Haloacetic acids and other disinfection byproducts increase the risk of cancer and may cause problems during pregnancy.

• Nitrate and nitrite was found at 4.6 times above EWG’s Health Guideline. Nitrate and nitrite enter water from fertilizer runoff, septic tanks and urban runoff. These contaminants can cause oxygen deprivation for infants and increase the risk of cancer. Nitrite is significantly more toxic than nitrate.

• Radium, combined (-226 & -228) was found at 2.4 times above EWG’s Health Guideline. Radium is a radioactive element that causes bone cancer and other cancers. It can occur naturally in groundwater, and oil and gas extraction activities such as hydraulic fracturing can elevate concentrations.

• Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) was found at 3.8 times above EWG’s Health Guideline. Trihalomethanes

are cancer-causing contaminants that form during water treatment with chlorine and other disinfectants. The total trihalomethanes group includes four chemicals: chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane and bromoform.

• Uranium was found at 3.1 times above EWG’s Health Guideline. Uranium is a known human carcinogen. The federal legal limit for uranium is set at 30 micrograms per liter (corresponding to parts per billion), but utilities can also report uranium in picocuries per liter (pCi/L), which is a measure of radioactivity in water. EWG translated all uranium results to pCi/L using a conversion factor developed by the EPA. With this conversion approach, the limit of 30 ppb corresponds to 20 pCi/L. Drinking water with this much uranium would cause more than 4.6 cancer cases in a population of 100,000. California set a public health goal for uranium of 0.43 pCi/L.

So, on the pueblo and throughout New Mexico, wherever there are people, there are contaminants. It is up to each individual to practice safety measures to help your family members stay protected from contaminants. Pointing a finger will not solve the problem when denial and “it’s your fault” seems to be the only resounding voice in society today. So what can you do?

Filter contaminants out: I use the Big Berkey Water Filter System. It is the least expensive. Though it is expensive for a moderate household; however, the filters consist of 2 black carbon filters and 2 white chemical filters which will filter 1 million gallons of water. This will run you around $350-500.

Contact a local official: Compile a list of questions to ask after doing your research. Most utilities provide water that gets a passing grade from the government, but that doesn’t mean there’s no need to worry about contamination, or that we don’t need to advance water equity.