Phila. water filled with germs, study shows

Children, adults with weakened immune systems and the elderly are among those at risk of getting sick from pathogens in Philadelphia's water supply, says a new report. The study, released Tuesday by Harvard University's School of Public Health, found that instances of gastro-intestinal sickness increased by an average of 10 percent during periods when Philadelphia water was more contaminated than usual. "This isn't something to panic about," Harvard School of Public Health Professor Joel Schwartz, the lead author of the report, said. "But it's something to suggest that there is a possibility Philadelphia could do a better job of treating its water." Officials from the Philadelphia Water Department, however, emphasized that contamination levels in the city's water are an average of six times lower than those required by federal standards. "Our customers should not be concerned about the quality of their drinking water," Water Department spokesperson Joan Dahme said, adding that the department has been working to improve the city's water supply since the study was conducted. The department serves 1.2 million people with water drawn from the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers which is treated and chlorinated at three separate plants. The Harvard report examined the relationship between contamination levels in Philadelphia water between 1989 and 1993 and the number of young patients admitted to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia emergency room for gastro-intestinal problems. Findings indicated that high instances of disease were linked to periods of increased pollution. Although the study was limited to children, Schwartz suggested that adults with weakened immune systems -- such as the elderly, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or people with AIDS -- should "consider some kind of water filtration device that could remove pathogens from the drinking water." A slight increase in cloudiness can lead to gastro-intestinal sickness, even when the water still meets federal safety standards, he added. Water contamination is measured with a nephelometer, a device which scatters light through a sample of water to determine its level of pollution. Federal standards dictate that 95 percent of water samples cannot exceed .5 nephelometric units (NTUs), and Schwartz said contamination levels in Philadelphia water are significantly lower than required by federal law, typically ranging from .17 to .22 NTUs. "The point of the study was that, even in a city with filtration and chlorination and drinking water that meets federal standards, an increase in gastrointestinal cases followed periods of cloudier water," he said. Schwartz added that the study, which appears in the November issue of Epidemiology, "suggests chlorine and filtration practices may not be the whole answer to ensuring water quality." And although many people drink bottled water instead of tap water in an effort to avoid polluted water, Schwartz warned that "there is basically no regulation on bottled water, so you don't know what is in there."

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