More Work Needed to Keep Drug Residues Out Of Great Lakes, Other Water Sources

Pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals and other dangerous drugs are showing up in drinking water supplies, and most treatment plants can't find and remove them.

Some originates in, well, the urine flushed into the waste treatment system by people taking medications. Other trace amounts begin with old prescriptions fkushed down the toilet.

Some more attention is being to this issue, and locally, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage Commission sponsors drug collections as an alternative to thoughtless flushings, but there's a lot more to do.

Research into better prevention and detection of drinking water contamination should be at the top of the list for agencies involved in water quality.