: 1206028995

The New York City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection plans to convene April 3 to discuss the recent news that trace amounts of 15 pharmaceuticals have been
found in New York City drinking water.

Councilman Jim Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) heads the committee and said state and federal representatives along with scientists and other experts will be present to discuss how to address the issue. Small amounts of hormones, mood stabilizers, pain killers and caffeine have reportedly been detected in the City’s drinking water and in Jamaica Bay, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Gennaro noted that New York City drinking water currently meets all federal standards for drinking water quality. The Safe Water Drinking Act is the federal law that provides for safe drinking water, which is enforced by the State Department of Health.

Furthermore, Gennaro said the issue of pharmaceuticals in drinking water is not just a New York City issue, but a national one.

“It is likely that due to this nationwide phenomenon, the federal government will probably create drinking water standards for trace pharmaceuticals,” he said.

The councilman said there is not yet cause for alarm among City residents, and people will probably be reassured by what comes out of the committee’s hearing. He also said New York City drinking water is generally superior to drinking water from other cities throughout the country.

“It’s not a close call regarding the quality of our water and the water of most of the jurisdictions around the country,” Gennaro said.

New York City’s water, which comes from watersheds upstate, has never been tested for pharmaceuticals, however.

In the wake of the report, the Department of Environmental Protection released the following statement: “New York City’s drinking water is among the best in the world, and though nothing in the information we’ve seen presents a risk to this water supply, we understand and take very seriously public concerns about pharmaceuticals in drinking water continue to closely monitor this emerging national issue, in cooperation with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.”

Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. (D-Astoria), a member of the Committee on Environmental Protection, said that since New York City has led the way on many health related issues such as the trans fat ban, it should lead the way on the issue of pharmaceuticals in drinking water.

“Banning trans fat — we did that ahead of the federal government,” Vallone said. “We need to stay ahead of them when it comes to the health of our citizens.”

Vallone said pharmaceuticals in drinking water have the potential to present problems in terms of other environmental issues the country currently deals with, but that not enough is known about the issue to determine a course of action.

“We’re already given drugs in our food, chemicals in our air, anything we get in our water has to be looked at in that light,” he said.