Trace Amounts Of Illegal Drugs In Our Fish ?

[CamG14]

This is a little disturbing

"We can assume that the fish might have a different behaviour when exposed to the drug, and maybe that would have a decline on the survival rate of a fish population," she said.

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5750246-trace-amounts-of-cocaine-oxycodon-and-morphine-in-ontario-drinking-water/

[DaveC]

I was'nt sure i heard that correctly on the radio on my way home. Pretty alarming and does'nt say much for our water treatment plants. Combined with the raw sewage spill last year, i would say further investigation into these facilities are definately called for.

[ron4blues]

Nothing new under the sun really. There's been Ritalin, Prozac, Viagra, and about a million other drugs floating around in our water for years. It seems when they designed water and sewage treatment facilities way back when, they didn't consider that when we take drugs, some of them will be excreted or secreted into the waste system. No one's designed treatment for it because no one ever thought of it.

That said, the concentrations are miniscule and probably not an issue. I'd be more concerned with microplastics and microbeads.

[dave524]

The worst I hear is women's birth control pills . estrogen in the water is having some alarming effects on fish, like it's been said this has been reported for years now.

[smerchly]

The worst I hear is women's birth control pills . estrogen in the water is having some alarming effects on fish, like it's been said this has been reported for years now.

We have to get the wimmins to pee outside lol . Take a look at the amount of chemicals in Shoppers Drug Marts etc etc etc . They all end up in the lake at some point . As Coach said ....take a look a the BIG picture , from agr.runoff manufacturing runoff , dumps , highways , ships , airports ,etc . We need to look at the whole haystack , not a few needles ......

[Buckeye_Fisherman]

Endocrine disrupting chemicals are a big issue right now in the fish world. Studies have shown that in areas of high concentration of estrogen like previously mentioned, male fish actually can develop female gonads, a quick way to deplete a localized population.

I think we have known about these endocrine disrupting chemicals for awhile now, we just don't have the technology at a reasonable enough financial cost to treat municipal and commercial waste water let alone stop these chemicals from getting into tributaries due to agricultural practices. Alot of research is now being conducted on this topic, so hopefully we can get a better grasp on how to solve this issue in the near future.

[ron4blues]

One way to reduce run-off from agriculture and industry is the establishment of riparian zones along waterways. Clearing vegetation right down to the water's edge should be a big no-no.

[bigugli]

One way to reduce run-off from agriculture and industry is the establishment of riparian zones along waterways. Clearing vegetation right down to the water's edge should be a big no-no.

Riparian strips are, for the most part, common practice. The problem is that most are not wide enough. To be effective you really need a 50-100ft buffer. an expensive proposition from the farmer's point of view for land loss, and for pest and disease management. Average practice is from 6-12ft.

[smerchly]

Riparian strips are, for the most part, common practice. The problem is that most are not wide enough. To be effective you really need a 50-100ft buffer. an expensive proposition from the farmer's point of view for land loss, and for pest and disease management. Average practice is from 6-12ft.

If there is a 10' strip in place now , adding another 40' seems like an easy thing to do using heavy farm equipment . If this would help keep the chemicals away from the water , the government should pitch in with incentives and make this mandatory .

[staffman]

Another problem is flushing unwanted drugs down the toilet. Please return them to the Pharmacy for proper disposal.

[smerchly]

Another problem is flushing unwanted drugs down the toilet. Please return them to the Pharmacy for proper disposal.

and ......lets not forget the millions of chemical laden butts that get tossed or flushed every hour ......

and.....lets no forget millions of "disposable" diapers that get tossed away in the garbage everyday ...... Modern society is not kind to the (fracking) environment .

and....lets not forget the pollution of monstrous proportions , called WAR ....remember Kuwait ? ....or the "peaceful" pollution of monstrous proportions .....Gulf of Mexico oil ........

So ....we will start with birth control pills and go from there ......

[bigugli]

If there is a 10' strip in place now , adding another 40' seems like an easy thing to do using heavy farm equipment . If this would help keep the chemicals away from the water , the government should pitch in with incentives and make this mandatory .

Governments aren't going to put up that kind of cash for shutting down land. Nor are they going to subsidize increased pesticide use. Heck, we are supposed to use less pesticide, not more. And we certainly aren't allowed to use the chemicals legal in S America and Asia. A 50ft wild strip along the edge of a producing field is just another breeding ground for insect pests and disease. It just means the public gets to pay another 20% for your food.

[Buckeye_Fisherman]

Back home in Ohio the government fronts farmers money to turn areas along creeks and rivers into conservation reserve program (CRP) land. Problem is that this is optional to the land owner obviously, but is a great way for farmers to make some money off acres that don't produce, like areas of a field that hold water, which is a great incentive to rebuild wetlands and riparian strips. I'm in the environmental field and I can tell you farmers get a bad wrap for causing water quality issues, especially in NW Ohio. A few old school farmers give the rest a bad name, the old practices are now being phased out with more efficient and environmentally friendly practices that benefit both them and the ecosystem.

Even with ag practices improving to better the environment and the waterways housed within their property, legacy contaminants and nutrients accumulated within these systems over the past decades will unfortunately be a problem for a long time to come.

[ron4blues]

Its not just agriculture. How many industrial/commercial properties do you see that have been cleared right to the water's edge. And public (usually municipal) parks too. Sure, all that carefully manicured grass is pretty, but it doesn't act as much of a filter.

[Buckeye_Fisherman]

You're exactly right coachman, there are multiple facets to this very complex problem of water quality. Each watershed is different, and therefore management practices must adjust accordingly to reduce toxins and nutrient loading from the waterways largest producers. Buffalo for example is a medley of industrial/commercial/residential, therefore different management practices are required to reduce inputs. I'm not much of an informative source on industrial/commercial/residential contaminant and nutrient loading, but learned alot back home about agriculture's impact, seeing as most of Lake Erie's western tribs watersheds are over 80% agriculture. Environmental agencies are working hard on solving many of these issues, but there is alot of dogs in this fight, big dogs with big wallets.

For what it is worth, Lake Erie is no longer considered "North America's dead sea" like it was in the 60's... gotta pull some positive out of alot of negative I guess haha

[dave524]

How much good do these riparian strips do ??? many fields are tile drained into a drainage ditch , kinda defeats the purpose of the strip, doncha think

[bigugli]

How much good do these riparian strips do ??? many fields are tile drained into a drainage ditch , kinda defeats the purpose of the strip, doncha think

In Niagara a lot of fields are tile drained because of the tender fruit industry. There is also tile drainage as a necessity in low lying ground like the Holland Marsh. Most farm lands are not drained.

However, riparian strips are not just a chemical buffer. The bigger purpose is in minimizing runoff and erosion.

[dave524]

Most of the tile drainage I've encountered is on clay soils , like West Lincoln and Wainfleet, along the Chippewa Crick, helps them get on the land sooner in the spring for planting. Contour ploughing helps with erosion too. Went to the old PDHS in Fenwick in the 60's, all the boys going to the annual ploughing match was a big deal then.