Studies Point Up Contamination of Drinking Water : Environment: Two groups report that 45 million Americans have been exposed to pollutants such as lead, pesticides and cryptosporidium.

By MELISSA HEALY

June 2, 1995 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

WASHINGTON — With Congress moving toward a major rewrite of laws governing the purity of the nation’s drinking water, two environmental groups on Thursday released studies showing that nearly half of the nation’s drinking water systems have exposed consumers to sickening contaminants such as lead, pesticides and the parasite cryptosporidium.

“Contaminated water has become commonplace in America,” said Richard Wiles, president of the Environmental Working Group and co-author of a study titled “In the Drink.” Congress’ efforts to relax regulations, he declared, “might seem a good idea but not if it allows polluters to relieve themselves into our drinking water.”

In two separate reports, the Environmental Working Group and the Natural Resources Defense Council concluded that the water supply of 45 million Americans has been tainted over the past two years with cryptosporidium--the microorganism that made 400,000 ill and killed more than 100 in Milwaukee in 1993--and that 53 million Americans during the same period have received tap water laced with levels of lead, pesticides and chlorine byproducts that exceed federal standards.

Both groups have lobbied aggressively to tighten existing laws and regulations governing the use of pesticides and have warned frequently of the public health dangers of industrial contaminants. In many cases, they have sought stricter regulation than that proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The studies mark the environmental community’s opening salvo in an effort to slow the drive of Republican lawmakers to roll back federal regulations.

The House in mid-May voted to reauthorize the Clean Water Act with major changes that would relax rules requiring industries, farms and cities to treat waste water before releasing it into the nation’s lakes, rivers and oceans. And lawmakers later this month are expected to begin redrafting the Safe Drinking Water Act, which establishes standards for tap water, in a bid to ease regulation of water treatment agencies.

Many water treatment organizations have lobbied hard for changes in the Safe Drinking Water Act, arguing that its purification, monitoring and enforcement provisions are costly to apply and frequently are not justified by the dangers of contaminants. But the authors of the studies contend that tainted water may be the cause of many illnesses, such as stomach distress or long-term loss of mental capacity, which are frequently not linked to water consumption.

Environmentalists have warned that relaxing both the Clean Water and the Safe Drinking Water acts would erode the cleanliness of the nation’s waterways and put serious strain on the quality of drinking water.

While declaring that their conclusions do not warrant public panic, the authors of the two reports urged Americans to press lawmakers to oppose any loosening of existing laws. In the meantime, they urged Americans with compromised immune systems--the elderly, those undergoing chemotherapy and those who have AIDS--to take special care to avoid contaminants, choosing perhaps to boil their water before drinking it.

In Southern California, the Natural Resources Defense Council noted that cryptosporidium has been found in source water as well as in finished or filtered water of both the Metropolitan Water District, which serves more than 16 million customers, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which serves 3.6 million customers.

Jay Malinowski, spokesman for the Metropolitan Water District, confirmed that the agency did find cryptosporidium in two water samples taken on the same date in 1993 but noted that it has found none since. He said that the agency has stepped up its monitoring for the microorganism--a step that goes beyond state and federal regulations--but sees no reason to institute costly and aggressive new filtration processes.

Bruce Kuebler, director of water quality for the DWP, said that 16 of roughly 200 samples taken in the past 18 months have yielded cryptosporidium. Although the concentration of the contaminant was “extremely low,” he said, the DWP has taken pains to alert the Los Angeles County and state health departments and groups with suppressed immune systems, who appear to be particularly vulnerable to cryptosporidium.

The Environmental Working Group cited the Water Department of Pico Rivera as one that has had a number of violations of EPA standards. In 1993-94, Pico Rivera, which serves 35,000 customers, reported two instances of contamination by coliform bacteria, usually found in fecal matter.

Nationally, 1,172 water systems, serving 11.6 million people, reported contamination with fecal coliform, which causes gastrointestinal illnesses. Lead, which causes permanent loss in mental capacity in children, appeared to be the second most common water contaminant nationally. Violations of federal standards for lead were reported in 2,551 systems nationwide, serving 10.3 million people.

The environmental groups culled much of their data from water agencies’ reports to the Environmental Protection Agency, but noted that many lawmakers are intent on discontinuing such reporting requirements, as well as public notification requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

These lawmakers also want to relax monitoring requirements for a number of contaminants and allow small and medium-sized water systems to get waivers for purification requirements that are too costly.

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Dirty Water A list of U.S. cities with “drinking water to watch,” according to the Environmental Working Group. City: New York City Violation: turbidity, coliform (feces)

*City: Tucson, Ariz. Violation: gross alpha radiation

*City: Greenville, S.C. Violation: coliform

*City: Utica, N.Y. Violation: coliform

*City: Elizabeth, N.J. Violation: coliform

*City: New Port Richey, Fla. Violation: coliform

*City: Decatur, Ill. Violation: nitrate, poor disinfection

*City: Lansdale, Pa. Violation: tetrachloroethylene, coliform

*City: Joliet, Ill. Violation: radium, gross alpha radiation, lead

*City: Springbrook Twnsp, Pa. Violation: poor disinfection, lead

*City: Fort Bragg, N.C. Violation: trihalomethanes, lead

*City: Altoona, Pa. Violation: not filtering, coliform, poor disinfection

*City: Rock Hill, S.C. Violation: trihalomethanes, poor disinfection