POTOMAC WATER WATCH
POTOMAC WATER WATCH
Improving Your Water. Improving Your Health
What is happening?
Our fish are dying. Many have a condition called intersex. Many have sores. Our rivers, drinking water, and
bodies are polluted.
Where?
The Potomac --including the drinking water for Washington DC -- the South Branch, the Cacapon River, Sleepy
Creek, and the Shenandoah.
Why?
It's complicated! We know its pollution but still don't know what emerging contaminants and endocrine
disrupters (EDCs) are causes.
Are you at risk?
Maybe! Most septic systems, municipal drinking water plants and bottling plants don't
filter out personal care products, herbicides, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, antibiotic hand cleaner. Many contain EDCs such as hormones
that can cause cancer and disrupt the body.
What can you do?
Don't flush away or dump medications.
Maintain a buffer strip along
waterways.
Work to improve home/community septic and sewage systems. Work for new product standards -- without contaminants.
Potomac Water Watch
"CONSUMER DRUG
RETURN
PROGRAM"
Don't dump pills down the toilet
or down the drain. Return unwanted, expired, or unused
medications to collection sites. New ones are being added. Go to www.wvrivers.org for a statewide list.
Baker,
EA Hawse Medical
Center
Berkeley Springs,
Morgan County Health Department
Franklin,
The Pill Box Pharmacy
Moorefield,
CVS Pharmacy
Romney
CVS & Reed'sDrug Stores
Peterburg
Judy's
Wardenville,
Wardensville Pharmacy
If there is no location near you, mix pills in used kitty litter or coffee
grounds, place in a sealable container and put in the trash
New Brochure:
"Do You Have a Deadly Drain?"
FREE.
Write to the address
at left.
DON'T POLLUTE OUR RIVERS
What goes down our drains
DRUGS HORMONES SEWAGE Flame Retardants PESTICIDES
Soaps Shampoos Creams
SLUDGE ANTIBIOTICS SEPTAGE
PILLS PILLS PILLS
American is swimming in pills -- literally -- and drinking them too.
THE FACTS -The average number of retail perscrip-tions
per capita in the US is 12.6 per year. One study over 13 months disposed of 225 lbs of active perscrip-tions and estimated that ophaned
medications from deceased population at 19.7 tons.One drug return program collected 2000 pounds of unwanted pharma-ceuticals
- over 101,359 pills.
CHEMICAL DISCOVERIES
2002 - USGS document that pharmaceuticals, were found in 80% of US streams sampled.
2004 - A
West Virginia Study by USGS "Antibiotics were detected in municipal wastewater, aquaculture -- with greatest concentration in municipal
efffluent.
2008 - Associated Press (AP) found a vast array of pharmaceuticals "in drinking water supplies of 41 million. Antibiotics,
anticonvulsants, and sex hormones.
2009 - NEW USGS Study:Exposure to estrogen reduces production of immune-related proteins in fish.
This suggest that endocrine disruptors, may make fish more susceptible to disease providing new clues about intersex fish.
Comes out in our drinking water!
Potomac Water Watch is run by West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment and
Friends of the Cacapon River with support from Potomac Headwaters RC&D HC62 Box 88B Great Cacapon WV 25422 - 304/947-7590