Ernesto Esquivel  |  Water Nerd
**Updated August 2, 2019 to include current data

For Hydroviv’s assessment of Louisville, Kentucky’s tap and drinking water problems, we collected water quality test data from Louisville and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We cross referenced Louisville water quality data with toxicity studies in scientific and medical literature. The water filters that we sell at Hydroviv are optimized to filter out contaminants that are found in Louisville’s drinking water.

Where Does Louisville Source Its Drinking Water?

Louisville sources its drinking water from the Ohio River. The utility provider, Louisville Water, treats and distributes drinking water to the metropolitan area as well as surrounding counties, including; Bullitt, Hardin, Nelson, Oldham, Shelby, and Spencer.

Lead In Louisville’s Drinking Water

Lead enters tap water through old lead service pipes and lead-containing plumbing. 10% of sites that were tested for lead had concentrations over 4.7 parts per billion, and the highest level collected was 10.2 parts per billion. The City of Louisville only received data from 50 residential taps, so the small data set may not be representative of the actual scope of the lead problem. Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Disease Control and American Academy of Pediatrics all recognize that there is no safe level of lead for children. Additionally, once water hits lead plumbing and lead fixtures, these measurements will increase significantly. Houses built before 1986 were most likely built with these types of fixtures. Lead exposure can cause developmental issues, lowered IQ, and damages to the kidneys and brain.

Disinfection Byproducts In Louisville’s Drinking Water

DBPs are formed when chlorine or chloramine-based disinfectants are routinely added to the water supply to kill bacteria. EPA regulates two categories or DBPs: Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and Haloacetic Acids-5 (HAA5). Concentrations of HAA5 averaged 27.3 parts per billion and reached levels as high as 46.1 parts per billion. The EPA Maximum Contaminant Level for this compound is 60 parts per billion. Concentrations of TTHMs averaged 27.8 parts per billion, but reached levels as high as 39.8 parts per billion. EPA’s Maximum Contaminant Level is 80 parts per billion for TTHMs. Disinfection Byproducts are a category of emerging contaminants which means they have been detected in drinking water but the risk to human health is unknown. Health and regulatory agencies have very little knowledge about the adverse health effects of DBPs, and their toxicity potential. EPA has stated that they have been linked to an increased risk of various types of cancers and problems with the central nervous system.

Chloramine In Louisville’s Drinking Water

Louisville disinfects its drinking water with chloramine, which is a disinfectant similar to chlorine. Chloramine is primarily responsible for what many Louisville customers report as the “bad taste” or “pool smell” of tap water. Most one-size-fits-all water filters use filtration media that doesn’t do a great job removing chloramine, but the filters that we design and build at Hydroviv for Louisville use a special filtration media that is purposefully designed to remove chloramine.

It’s important to note that only a handful of contaminants are required to be included in annual Consumer Confidence Reports, and that there are hundreds of potentially harmful unregulated contaminants that aren’t accounted for. If you’re interested in learning more about water filters that have been optimized for Louisville’s tap water quality, feel free to visit www.hydroviv.com to talk to a Water Nerd on our live chat feature or send us an email at hello@hydroviv.com.

While useful, lead is highly toxic...roughly 25% of households in the United States with children under the age of six contain significant amounts of lead-contaminated paint, dust, water, or soil. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that there is no safe level of lead exposure in children. Adults exposed to lead may experience gastrointestinal diseases and/or damage to the cardiovascular system, reproductive system, brain, kidneys, and liver. 

Editor's Note: We've been writing more articles about organic chemicals like endocrine disruptors, methylated mercury, so we've been getting a lot of questions about how people become exposed to these chemicals. Even though these questions deal more with food than drinking water, we though that it'd be worthwhile to spend some time on an article explaining how this happens.

What is Bioaccumulation?

Bioaccumulation refers to the process of toxic chemicals building up inside of an organism’s body. This happens when a chemical is consumed or absorbed, and the body cannot catabolize or excrete it quickly enough. Mercury is a well-known chemical that will bioaccumulate in humans. We commonly hear about mercury exposure resulting from eating fish such as tuna (or other large predatory fish). However, mercury as well as many other harmful chemicals can also be found in drinking water supplies across the United States.

Chemicals that tend to bioaccumulate are stored in cells and not exposed to direct physical or biochemical degradation. These chemicals can collect and hide-out, particularly within adipose tissue (fat cells). Fatty mammary tissue often contains the highest concentrations of toxic chemicals. These chemicals in our mammary tissue are then passed along to infants when nursing.

What is Biomagnification?

Biomagnification refers to the process of toxic chemicals increasing in concentration as they move throughout a food chain. Bioaccumulation and biomagnification often work hand-in-hand; one animal accumulates chemicals in the body (bioaccumulation) and then a larger predator consumes that smaller animal such that the chemical is passed along to the predator. The chemical “magnifies” as the resulting concentrations increase in the predator because it likely consumes large quantities of that particular prey throughout its lifetime (biomagnification). As top-level predators in our own food chain, humans tend to collect high concentrations of toxic chemicals in our bodies.

What are Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxics (PBTs)?

PBTs are a particular group of chemicals that threaten the health of humans and the environment. Examples include methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), and dioxins. PBTs are considered extremely dangerous to both humans and wildlife because they remain in the environment for a very long time without breaking down, then bioaccumulate and biomagnify in ecosystems (including ours).

PBTs can also travel long distances and move between air, water, and land. DDT, a notorious environmental pollutant, was developed as a synthetic insecticide in the 1940s. Sprayed over crops, DDT would then wash into water supplies and contaminate lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and oceans. Small organisms such as plankton and algae absorb DDT through the water. Smaller fish then consume the contaminated algae and plankton. Larger predatory fish then consume the smaller fish. Eventually, large predatory birds or humans eat the contaminated fish. Despite being banned in the United States over 40 years ago, DDT is still found in soil and water supplies today. In addition, humans contain the highest concentrations of DDT when compared to other organisms.

How Does This Impact Human Health?

Exposure to PBTs has been linked to a wide range of toxic effects in humans and wildlife. Some of those adverse effects include but are not limited to disruption of the nervous and endocrine systems, reproductive and developmental problems, immune system suppression, and cancer.

How Can I Minimize Exposure To PBTs?

1. Avoid eating species of fish that are long-lived and high on the food chain such as tuna, marlin, shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish.
2. Use a high quality water filter that removes PBTs (e.g. DDT, Dioxins, BPA, Phthalates) from contaminated drinking water before the chemicals get a chance to accumulate in you.

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Analies Dyjak  |  Policy Nerd

Fertilizers, pesticides, and other types of stormwater runoff are common sources of drinking water contamination in the United States. Nitrogen is a major ingredient in agricultural and household fertilizers that are used to promote growth. Algal blooms occur when photosynthesis production spikes due to an influx of nutrients, which is frequently associated with nitrogen-based fertilizers. If you have ever seen a bright green body of water, it may have been because of nitrogen overloading. Municipal water systems typically have the proper technology to filter out nitrates, but the higher the concentration, the harder they are to filter. Groundwater wells are by far the most at risk for nitrate contamination. Private wells are not regulated and detection of nitrates or other contaminants is impossible without expensive testing.

Health Effects of Nitrates in Drinking Water

Nitrate contamination can result in methemoglobinemia or "baby blue" disease. This occurs when nitrate-contaminated tap water is used to prepare infant formula. This life-threatening disease reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen throughout the body. Nitrates are colorless and odorless, and thus difficult to detect. Nitrates in the environment do not pose a considerable health risk unless they’re ingested, in which case they are reduced to nitrites within the body. Nitrites are then further reduced to N-nitroso compounds which are known carcinogens and are also linked to other health problems. You may be familiar with this compound because it can be found in processed meats and vegetables that are high in vitamin E. Bladder and thyroid cancer, as well as birth defects are the primary health risks associated with nitrate contamination.

Non-Point Source Pollution

Nitrate contamination in water is associated with non-point source pollution from agriculture, residential lawn maintenance, and recreational field maintenance. Unlike point source pollution which originates from factories and other industrial sites, non-point source pollution is much more difficult to regulate. Point sources are regulated by National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits which include allowable levels of pollution and best practices for managing contamination. Non-point pollution culminates from various different sources, some of which are unknown. This makes identifying “responsible parties” a very difficult task. Non-point sources are regulated through Water Quality Management Plans under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. Water Quality Management Plans include Best Management Practices (BMP’s), implementation plans, and deadlines that must all be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

How are Nitrates Regulated?

The Environmental Protection Agency set a Maximum Contaminant Level of 10 parts per million, which is an enforceable standard that public water systems must comply with. As previously stated, public water supplies should be equipped to handle nitrate contamination, but this isn’t always the case. For example, a 2015 study completed in various communities in Iowa concluded that 11 public water sources exceeded federal limits. The study also concluded that 880 municipal water systems were considered to be “highly susceptible to becoming contaminated by nitrates and other pollutants.” If you live in an agricultural area, we recommend using a filtration system to reduce the risk of nitrate contamination in your water.

As always, we encourage you to take advantage of Hydroviv's "Help No Matter What" technical support policy, where we answer questions related to nitrates in drinking water and water filtration. Drop us a line at hello@hydroviv.com.

Analies Dyjak  |  Policy Nerd

**Updated September 30, 2020 to include current data

For Hydroviv’s assessment of Norman, Oklahoma drinking water, we aggregated water quality test data provided by the city's Consumer Confidence Report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and supplemental health information. We cross referenced the city’s water quality test data with toxicity studies in scientific and medical literature. The water filters that we sell at Hydroviv are optimized to filter out contaminants that are found in Norman's drinking water.

Chromium 6 In Norman's Drinking Water

Chromium 6 is a highly toxic metal that is currently unregulated by the EPA. Chromium 6 pollution is associated with metal processing, tannery facilities, chromate production, stainless steel welding, and pigment production. Norman, Oklahoma has some of the highest levels of Chromium 6 in the country. In the 2020 Consumer Confidence Report, the city of Norman tested for Total Chromium, instead of Chromium 6 - which is a far more toxic type of chromium. According to test data completed by the Environmental Working Group, the average concentration of Chromium 6 detected in Norman's drinking water was 39,300 parts per trillion. For a bit of perspective, these levels are as high as 1,965 times higher than the concentration determined to have negligible impact on cancer risk. EPA has acknowledged that Chromium 6 is a known human carcinogen through inhalation, but is still determining its cancer potential through ingestion of drinking water. Lung, nasal and sinus cancers are associated with Chromium 6 exposure. Acute respiratory disease, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, hematological, hepatic, renal, and neurological distress are health effects associated with high levels of chromium 6 exposure.

Arsenic in Norman's Drinking Water

Norman, Oklahoma has a big problem with Arsenic in drinking water. The current levels of Arsenic in Norman drinking water are 14.4 parts per billion. The allowable level (also known as the Maximum Contaminant Level) for Arsenic in municipal tap water is 10 parts per billion. This is the first time in recent years that Norman has had high levels of Arsenic in drinking water. In previous years, Arsenic levels have been 2 parts per billion, which is well below the federal standard. 

Chloramine In Norman’s Drinking Water

While most municipalities use chlorine as the primary drinking water disinfectant, Norman’s drinking water is disinfected with chloramine. Chloramine is primarily responsible for what many customers report as the “bad taste” or “pool smell” of tap water. Concentrations were detected as high as 3.9 parts per million in treated water, which is just under the EPA Maximum Contaminant Level of 4 parts per million. Unlike chlorine, chloramine does not dissipate if a container of water is left in the refrigerator overnight. Most one-size-fits-all water filters use filtration media that doesn’t do a great job removing chloramine, but the filters that we design and build at Hydroviv for Norman use a special filtration media that is purposefully designed to remove chloramine.

Strontium In Norman’s Drinking Water

Strontium is an unregulated contaminant that was also detected in this years water quality report. Strontium naturally occurs in certain vegetables, grain, and livestock but is also a byproduct of coal and oil combustion. Concentrations of Strontium in Norman's drinking water were detected as high as 442 parts per billion. For a bit of perspective, this is twice as high as concentrations found in Oklahoma City. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, children are the most susceptible age group to the negative health effects associated with Strontium exposure. Bone growth can be effected if children ingest high enough concentrations through drinking water.

It’s important to note that only a handful of contaminants are required to be included in annual Consumer Confidence Reports, and that there are hundreds of potentially harmful unregulated contaminants that aren’t accounted for. If you’re interested in learning more about water filters that have been optimized for Norman's tap water quality, feel free to visit www.hydroviv.com to talk to a Water Nerd on our live chat feature or send us an email at hello@hydroviv.com.