Recent news reports have frequently alerted the public to the possibility of pharmaceutical contamination in the water supply. The following facts are provided for the reference of consumers and users:

Installing a filtration system at home provides an additional level of water treatment. In terms of water consumption, less than 20 percent of water is used for domestic purposes and human consumption; therefore, using these point-of-use filtration systems may be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly option for treating drinking water.

Although water supplied by government treatment plants must meet established safety standards, home filtration systems serve as an additional barrier against certain contaminants and can further treat and purify drinking water in the home.

At the time this article was written, specific performance standards for pharmaceutical contaminants in residential drinking water filtration systems may not yet have been established. However, many filtration technologies had already demonstrated effectiveness in removing certain emerging waterborne contaminants.

Research conducted by the Colorado School of Mines evaluated nanofiltration and reverse osmosis systems at full-scale water treatment facilities in Arizona and California to remove pharmaceutical contaminants from water. Among purification and filtration systems designed to remove these contaminants—including activated carbon, distillation, ozone disinfection, and advanced oxidation—effectiveness varies depending on the contaminant and treatment conditions, and these technologies do not necessarily achieve similar results.

According to research attributed to Utah State University, up to 90 percent of some orally administered medications may pass through the human body without being fully metabolized. These drugs and their metabolites can enter wastewater systems and subsequently flow into streams and groundwater, contributing to water contamination.

In addition to pharmaceuticals, water quality experts are also studying other emerging contaminants, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in personal care products and pesticides, which can pollute water sources.

Effective residential filtration systems that meet applicable performance standards have been shown to remove harmful heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, that may be present in water.