Charleston wants to tap into study

The Charleston Water System on Thursday expressed interest in joining Mount Pleasant Waterworks and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a study of pharmaceuticals in treated wastewater discharged into Charleston Harbor.

"We're very much hoping we can collaborate with (NOAA)," said Jenny Hagan, Charleston Water System public relations manager.

Mount Pleasant Waterworks and Charleston Water System discharge millions of gallons of treated wastewater into the harbor daily. The utilities' treatment systems do not filter prescription drugs, which find their way into toilets because unused drugs are disposed of that way or because people take the drugs and excrete them.

"It's an emerging issue, and it's something we're paying close attention to," said Paul Comar, chief of research coordination and administrative services for the NOAA research lab at Fort Johnson. "Clearly they (drugs) are making their way through the sewer system. That's how they get there (harbor) for the most part."

Testing for prescription drugs in treated wastewater is thought to be an issue worthy of exploration because of antibiotic-resistant bacteria NOAA scientists have found in some marine mammals in waters in and around the harbor. The theory is that some dolphins have been found to carry the drug-resistant germs because the drugs are being flushed into the harbor.

Although conventional wastewater treatment does not remove prescription drugs, Mount Pleasant Waterworks is looking at a $70 million system that filters pharmaceuticals out of wastewater, General Manager Clay Duffie said. He said Waterworks is talking with NOAA about studying the issue. Waterworks has a capital-improvements plan that calls for the treatment system to be online in 2011.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ed Good said consumers can reduce the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in wastewater by disposing of them in other ways. "As a physician, I have wondered what really happens when we flush drugs," Good said.

He said a first step might be posting a sign in pharmacies asking people not to flush drugs. "Perhaps ultimately, if necessary, a law prohibiting disposal in this manner would help. There could be hazardous waste disposal buckets at all the pharmacies," he said in an e-mail.

Mount Pleasant Waterworks plans to be the first in the tri-county to have the membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment method. The system will filter pharmaceuticals from the water using ultraviolet light rather than chlorine to kill bacteria, Duffie said.

Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postand courier.com.