The water flowing down area rivers and streams is not as clean as it looks — it's contaminated with pharmaceuticals.
Ball State University biology students, under the direction of biology professor Melody Bernot, have been testing water samples from north of Muncie to south of Indianapolis for a year and a half. They are finding trace amounts of drugs that entered streams through human waste.
Bernot said drinking water is unaffected by the findings and is safe to drink. However, their testing did not include the main White River, only streams that lead into it. They also did not directly test drinking water on campus.
"This may be killing habitats, but the chances of it getting in the drinking water are very little," Bernot said.
The pharmaceuticals found include trace amounts of acetaminophen, caffeine, dimethylxanthine, which comes from caffeine, and cotinine, which comes from nicotine.
Studies across the county have found this to be a common problem.
Research presented in an investigation by the Associated Press shows that even a small concentration of pharmaceuticals in the water can have a drastic effect on aquatic animals, such as frogs and fish.
Scientists are uncertain on the effect trace amounts in the water have on humans. Under laboratory conditions, human cells do not grow normally when exposed to affected water. Graduate student Allison Veach said that not much research has been done on the water in the Muncie area.
Veach is working on her master's degree in science and biology. As part of her thesis, she collects water samples from Buck and Killbuck Creeks once a month and sends them to Iowa University for testing to see how pharmaceutical levels are changing. She started in June 2009 and hopes to complete her research next summer when she will write her thesis, graduate and try to publish her results.
"I wanted to test one urban and one rural site to see the differences," Veach said. "I'm finding more pharmaceuticals in the urban location."
At this point, she doesn't know what all the data means.
However, efforts are underway to help decrease the concentration of pharmaceuticals in the water. Much of it does comes from human waste, but the Associated Press also found that an estimated 250 million pounds come from hospitals and long-term care facilities. Many people also just flush their unused drugs down the toilet.
"There are venues for drug disposal," Bernot said. "A couple of times a year there are drug collection drives so people can properly dispose of their pharmaceuticals."
Bernot said even though the drinking water isn't affected by what is being found, it's still important for students to take note of what is happening.
"Students should be aware that this does harm our environment," Bernot said.
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