Posted on Monday, Oct. 7, 2013 at 10:09 am
Updated on May, 14, 2015 - 11:00am
Initiative aims to keep pharmaceuticals out of our wastewater and landfills
It's an alarming thought – prescription drugs like anti-depressants, hormones, painkillers, antibiotics, and steroids showing up in the water supply. But it's happening in cities across the country, especially those that get their water from lakes and rivers.
"Most of the biggest cities get their water from surface water, so in big cities, this is an emerging problem," says Madison Water Utility water quality manager Joe Grande, who points out that many pharmaceuticals end up in lakes and rivers because they've been flushed down toilets. "Surface water suppliers are often getting water downstream of waste water effluent."
Madison gets its water from an underground aquifer, so pharmaceutical contamination isn't likely to be a problem – recent testing showed no trace of pharmaceuticals in Madison's drinking water. at least not yet. Still, Grande stresses that anything tossed in the trash, whether it be old drugs or cleaning solvents, could eventually make its way to our groundwater.
"If you throw it in the trash, it goes into the landfill, and then there's that potential," Grande says.
Take Back Initiative, May 16
"It doesn't matter what the medication is, it's not going to be okay to flush it or throw it away," says Eric Hewitt, owner and pharmacist at the Medicine Shoppe in Monona.
Twice a year, Hewitt participates in the Drug Enforcement Administration's National Take Back Initiative. For one day only – May 16 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. – people can drop by the Medicine Shoppe at 4205 Monona Dr. to safely dispose of any type of medication.
Hewitt expects customers from Madison and Monona to drop off enough medication to fill three or four boxes with nothing but pills – just about every kind of pill imaginable.
"Anything from pain meds...to blood pressure medicine. It really runs the gamut."
Hewitt may be a pharmacist, but he's also got a deep appreciation for clean water. Maybe that's because his dad, John, is a long-time Madison Water Utility employee.
"(The utility does) a great job keeping a clean water supply, and we just want to partner and help with that," he says, adding that even though the program has grown every year, there's still a long way to go. "My hope is that it becomes kind of a standard of practice. It used to be, 'Okay, I'll just throw them in the garbage or I'll just flush them down the toilet.' This program helps create an awareness about the water supply.'"
You can also find Med Drop boxes at the City of Madison's east and west police precincts year-round. For information, visit Safe Communities of Madison - Dane County.
Subscribe to Email List
Archive
Category
Uncategorized
Our People
Serving the Community
-
“Got Water?” project announces 2020 hydration station schools!
-
Toilet Rebate Program hits 1 billion gallons of water saved!
-
Worst-case: What happens when a water main breaks under an airport taxiway?
-
Madison Water Utility adds first new well in more than a decade
-
Two Madison Water Utility projects getting national attention
-
Planned Blackhawk Water Tower signals growth on the far west side
-
MWU invests millions in water infrastructure on northeast side
-
Madison Water Utility first in state to launch "ultimate conservation tool"
-
Wisconsin Water for the World: Making a difference one village at a time
Sustainability
-
WI Salt Awareness Week examines environmental damage caused by road salt
-
Madison Water Utility reports unprecedented drop in city’s water use
-
Toilet Rebate Program hits 1 billion gallons of water saved!
-
Lost Lou and Peter Barryman tune about conservation gets new life.
-
Annual water use in Madison drops by a billion gallons in six years
-
Madison Water Utility adds first new well in more than a decade
-
You have a voice! MWU seeks public input on critical water issues
-
Madison woman gets serious about water conservation, wins an iPad
-
All eyes on the aquifer: Is Madison's water supply sustainable?
-
Madison Water Utility first in state to launch "ultimate conservation tool"
Water quality
-
"We'll be doing this forever." Understanding the impact of PFAS
-
Into the bore hole: Tackling the road salt problem at a west side well
-
Madisonians cite safety and conservation as top water issues
-
As Safe Drinking Water Act turns 40, Madison ramps up testing
-
Taking safety seriously: The story behind water chlorination
Tags
- aquifer
- Arbor Hills
- AWWA
- Barrymans
- Blackhawk
- Booster Pump Station 106
- Business COVID-19 coronavirus
- CAP
- capitol
- chloride
- chlorine
- Clean Water
- Climate Change
- Common Council
- Community
- Conservation
- cost
- cost of water
- Customer Care
- Customer service
- disinfection
- drinking water
- Education
- efficiency
- energy
- engineering
- environment
- EPA
- Fire
- Fire protection
- Flooded houses
- freezing
- Frozen pipes
- Got Water
- Got Water?
- graywater
- Greywater
- healthy kids
- History
- hydration
- Imagine a Day Without Water
- Infrastructure
- John Heim
- John Muir
- Lake View Hill
- lakes
- lead pipes
- lead service replacement program
- leaks
- Lou and Peter
- Lou and Peter Barryman
- Low Income
- Mad City Tappers
- Mad Women on Tap
- Madison
- Madison City Channel
- Madison Kipp
- madison municpal services
- Madison Water
- Madison Water Utility
- Main breaks
- Michael Edmonds
- MWU
- New well
- North Madison
- O'Dea
- Operation center
- Paterson
- Perfluorinated compounds
- PFAS
- pipes
- Placemaking
- plumbing
- Private Wells
- Project H2O
- Project Home
- Projects
- Public Works
- pumping
- Recycled water
- Remucal
- Reservoir Park
- Road Salt
- Safety
- shower
- Southeast
- stormwater
- study
- Survey
- Sustainability
- Tap Water
- Tapping Team
- Technology
- Testing
- Testing
- Toilet Rebate
- UW
- UW Madison
- Wanda Fullmore Youth Internship Program
- water
- water bill
- Water board
- Water conservation
- Water Main
- Water main flushing
- Water Mains
- Water Quality
- Water Quality Report
- water safety
- Water supply
- Water Tower
- Water Utility
- Water Wagon
- Water Works
- WaterSense
- watershed
- Well 14
- Well 31
- Well 8
- Wellhead Protection
- West Madison
- west side
- Winter
- Winter Safety
- Winterization
- WiSaltWise
- Women's
- World War II
- WWA