Officials say tests clear Reno water

RENO -- After extensive testing, Washoe County officials on Wednesday said the Reno-area's drinking water supply is clean and drug free.

Tests were conducted by an independent laboratory on samples taken from five water sources, including groundwater wells as well as filtered water from the county's treatment plant on Longley Lane, officials with county Department of Water Resources said.

The samples were analyzed for 34 different compounds, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products.

Only trace amounts of one substance, sulfamethoxazole, was detected in two samples.

The drug is an antibiotic used to treat sinus and urinary tract infections, officials said. It was detected in one sample at 4.9 parts per trillion, and at 7.1 ppt in another, the agency said.

Officials said they believed the samples were influenced by septic tank effluent, but noted the dilution was minuscule.

"A part per trillion is the equivalent of one grain of sand in an Olympic size swimming pool," the water department said.

"A national study was recently completed in which researchers looked at available information on the toxicology of sulfamethoxazole and determined that for the minute levels, such as those detected in Washoe County's samples, an adult would have to drink more than 21 million, 8-ounce glasses of water per day to consume enough ... to produce an adverse effect," department director Rosemary Menard said in a statement.

"We are actively following this issue and are committed to monitoring for any compounds of concern and communicating the results to our community," Menard said.

Based on the test results, Menard said the department "is not recommending any changes in customers' water use habits."

The testing followed a series of stories by The Associated Press said that pharmaceuticals have been identified in some of the nation's water supplies.