Tests find antibiotic, other contaminants in Tampa's drinking water

The tap water that Tampa residents consume is contaminated with low levels of antibiotics, nicotine byproducts and a chemical used to produce firefighting foams.

City and state officials say the levels of the contaminants – found in recent tests of the city's drinking water system – are miniscule and that the city's water is safe to drink.

But the presence of the contaminants raises questions about what is coming out of the faucets in tens of thousands of households served by the city's water system.

State and federal environmental regulators say they know little about possible health risks from the cocktail of contaminants that in recent years have been found in water supplies across the country. They are only beginning to study the long-term effects.

Without any regulation of these types of contaminants, the city isn't required to report the findings of the recent tests to state and local environmental regulators, or the public.

Elias Franco, distribution division manager for Tampa's water department, said the city began voluntarily testing its water for pharmaceutical contaminants two years ago.

He said the contaminants found in tests conducted in May 2009 include the antibiotic drug sulfamethoxzole; cotinine, a nicotine byproduct; and perfluorooctane sulphonate, a chemical commonly used for metal plating, photography and firefighting foams.

The contaminants were found in samples of treated drinking water taken from the city's treatment plant, indicating that the existing filtration process doesn't remove them.

Franco said the city meets all federal and state regulations for drinking water quality and, for now, doesn't intend to make any wholesale changes to the water treatment system.

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