What's in Your Water? - Prescription Drugs Turn Up at the Tap

Sep 29, 2026

“What’s in Your Water?” reports how prescription drugs and other pharmaceuticals can enter drinking-water supplies, describing how human bodies and routine disposal may leave drug traces in rivers and tap systems. It highlights investigations finding multiple medications in major U.S. waters, explains how trace pollutants spread, and connects public awareness to actions such as drug drop-off programs. The issue also covers related world news, including the Grand Canyon flooding and protests linked to Tibet and the Olympics.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

What's in Your Water?

Prescription Drugs Turn Up at the Tap

DON'T CROSS THAT LINE

PR口TESTS F口R TIBET

HOW DO DRUGs SEEP IN?

--一e 107 www.weeklyreader.comMar.24,2008ciRcuLATINeRREYOUTH RO0M IEVENTS □3.24.0 WEEK □F # What's in Your Water? Prescription Drugs Turn Up at the Tap 口3.24.口3 GRAND CANYON FLOODING 1 PAGE,Ariz.—Amassiveflood swept through the GrandCanyon in early March.Thiswas no act of nature or even anaccident.Several miles upstreamfrom the canyon,the U.S.govern-ment opened the spigots on the GlenCanyon Dam.Why?To save an endan-gered fish called the humpback chub. For three days,more than 300,000gallons of water per second rushedinto the nation's most famouscanyon.The goal was to build upsediment along the Colorado River. Mat York/AP Images Sediment is the dirt,sand,and mineralsthat settle in a body of water.Before theGlen Canyon hydroelectric dam(above)was built in the 1960s,the Colorado Rivermade the Grand Canyon a rich home forwildlife.Today,the dam blocks the river'spowerful flow and its sediment.Fourspecies of fish that lived in the GrandCanyon are believed to have becomeextinct since the dam went up.The hump-back chub and other fish are endangered. There's also news about the GrandCanyon itself.University of New Mexicoscientists say they have evidence that thecanyon is three times older than oncebelieved—it's about 17 million years old. ## DON'T CROSS THAT LINE 图BOGOTÁ,Colombia—The governments of SouthAmerica occasionally fight drug dealers and rebels,butthe continent hasn'thad a war among nations in decades.In early March,it came close.The conflict began whenColombia bombed a rebel camp in neighboring Ecuadorand killed a commander of the rebel group FARC(above).FARC opposes Colombia's government.EcuadorianPresident Rafael Correa was angry that Colombia's armyhad attacked someone inside his country,so he expelledColombia's ambassador.Correa's ally,VenezuelanPresident Hugo Chávez,was even angrier.He sentVenezuelan troops to the border with Colombia.“Thiscould be the start of war in South America,"Chávezwarned.It took more than a week for the three to calmdown and agree to talk out their differences.ColombianPresident Alvaro Uribe apologized,and Correa accepted. ## PR口TESTS F口R TIBET LHASA,China—The Dalai Lama is all in favor of China'sholding the 2008 Olympic GamesDon't get him wrong:The Tibetan spiritual leader thinks China has a terriblehuman rights record.But he sees the Olympics as a wayto draw attention to the Tibetan cause.Tibetans want inde-pendence for their homeland,part of western China in theHimalaya Mountains.They began protesting in citiesaround the world on March 10,the anniversary of a failed1959 Tibetan uprising against the Chinese government.They certainly got attention.In Lhasa,a major city in Tibet,monks clashed with police,and protesters set fire toshops,according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua.Inneighboring Nepal labovel,police arrested 80 protestersat the Chinese Embassy.Read more at tinyurL.com/ys5vly. ernment have that muchpower over us.What ifthings go wrong and the where to find them ifthey do something bad.Overall,I guess it is a great idea, government though it turns against us?Then we should not won't be able be misused. to defend our- —Jeremy K., selves.We Delaware have a right to privacy.If our Dear CE, My opinion is government that people can't respect that,then this countryisn't what it should be. shouldn't be trackeddown in everything theydo throughout their day.I wouldn't want peopleto know where I am andwhat I'm shopping for.一Quentin T,CE blogger —Page E.,Maryland Dear CE, I think that the RFID)chips are a great idea,but they shouldn't beused for tracking peopleor watching people with-out their permission..I like the idea,though,that it could help keep We want to hear fromyou!E-mail us atedce@weeklyreader.com.Check out the blog too:www.cenewsblog.com. CARTO□N □F THE WEEK WHAT GOES UP... The price of ail is going up quicktly,and it's draggingcartoonist is trying to make?What might UncleSam be thinking about

FAQs

How do prescription drugs end up in U.S. drinking water?

The article explains that after people swallow prescribed pills, the body does not fully absorb some drugs. Traces can pass through and enter water systems through natural processes and disposal-related pathways.

What investigations does the article mention about drug traces in water?

It cites findings from an Associated Press investigation showing prescription drugs in many major water systems, including traces of numerous medications in Philadelphia’s tap water.

What actions does the article describe for reducing medication in water supplies?

It describes drug drop-off programs where pharmacies accept old prescriptions, giving patients an alternative to flushing expired drugs into the water supply.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Maya Linwood