Common Water Contaminants

How it enters water:

• Is a naturally occurring element and can enter water via environmental contact with it.
• Wastewater discharges from fossil fuel extraction operations

Health effects include:

• ntal contact
• Can also enter water via agricultural runoff, partially treated or untreated sewage, and from some types of fertilizers

Health effects include:

• High levels of phosphates in the body can cause tissue damage and impair kidney function

http://www.water-research.net/index.php/phosphate-in-water
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3120105/

How it enters water:

• Is a naturally occurring element and can enter water via environmental contact.
• Can also enter water as runoff from industrial or agricultural operations.

Health effects include:

• Acute arsenic exposure can cause vomiting, nausea, loss of feeling in extremities and in extreme cases, death
• Chronic arsenic exposure can cause changes in skin, cancer, developmental interference, diabetes and cardiovascular disease

How to remove:

• Anion exchange
• Manganese greensand
• Iron based media coated with iron oxide
• Reverse Osmosis

https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/private/wells/disease/arsenic.html
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs372/en/

How it enters water:

• Is a naturally occurring element and enters water via environmental contact
• Can also enter water via industrial runoff and fossil fuel combustion
• Is primarily detected in surface water, but in very low concentrations because most forms are insoluble

Health effects include:

• Little to no health effects of concern have been found in relation to beryllium

How to remove:

• Reverse osmosis
• Activated alumina

https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/dwgb/documents/dwgb-3-.pdf
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/beryllium_in_drinking2.pdf

How it enters water:

• Cadmium primarily enters water via mining other industrial processes, the use of phosphate fertilizers, and when acidic water comes into contact with pipes containing cadmium

Health effects include:

• Cancer, kidney disease and bone diseases

How to remove:

• Coagulation with filtration
• Reverse Osmosis
• Lime softening

https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?csem=6&po=5 
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/cadmium/healtheffects.html 

How it enters water:

• Is a naturally-occurring element and enters water via environmental contact
• Also enters water as an industrial waste

Health effects include:

• Chromium has 2 oxidation states: 3+ and 6+
• Chromium 3 is an essential nutrient and found in many fruits and vegetables
• Chromium 6 is not found in plants and is a powerful carcinogen

How to remove:

• Both chromium 3 and chromium 6 can be removed via reverse osmosis
• Chromium 3 can be removed by strong acid cation resins
• Chromium 6 can be removed by strong base anion resins

https://www.wqa.org/Portals/0/Technical/Technical%20Fact%20Sheets/2016_Chromium.pdf 
https://www.epa.gov/dwstandardsregulations/chromium-drinking-water 

How it enters water:

• Copper is a naturally occurring element and exists in water at very low levels
• High levels of copper in water are the results of mining, agriculture, and manufacturing
• Acidic water can corrode copper pipes

Health effects include:

• Humans need a small amount of dietary copper to survive
• However, at high levels, copper can cause problems with blood nutrient balance, the digestive system and the liver

How to remove:

• Reverse osmosis
• Cation exchange

https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/private/wells/disease/copper.html 
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/substances/toxsubstance.asp?toxid=37 

How it enters water:

• Lead almost never occurs naturally in water
• Lead in drinking water usually comes from the corrosion of pipes containing lead

Health effects include:

• • Negative systemic effects for:

    • Cardiovascular system

    • Neurological system

    • Digestive system

    • Hematological (blood forming) system

    • Musculoskeletal system

    • Reproductive system

• Lead is especially dangerous for children, because it can hinder both physical and neurological development
• Lead is listed as a probable human carcinogen

How to remove:

• Reverse osmosis
• Solid block and precoat adsorption filters

https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/private/wells/disease/lead.html 
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/substances/toxsubstance.asp?toxid=22 

How it enters water:

• A naturally occurring element that enters water via environmental contact

Health effects include:

• No adverse human health effects at the levels present in water
• However, contributes to water hardness

How to remove:

• Cation exchange water softeners

https://www.lenntech.com/periodic/water/magnesium/magnesium-and-water.htm 

How it enters water:

• A naturally occurring element that enters water via environmental contact

Health effects include:

• No adverse human health effects at the levels present in water
• However, contributes to water hardness

How to remove:

• Cation exchange water softeners

https://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/ca.htm 

How it enters water:

• Is a naturally-occurring element and part of a lot of different minerals. Degradation of silicon-containing minerals can cause silicon to be released into water

Health effects include:

• No adverse health effects are observed at the levels silicon is present in water
• Additionally, silicon in water does not have the same physical properties as silicon dusts, so it does not cause lung cancer or respiratory irritation

How to remove:

• Reverse osmosis
• Strong base anion exchange

How it enters water:

• Sodium salts are very soluble and naturally occurring, so it is present in some amount in most water sources
• Sodium compounds are used in many industrial applications 

Health effects include:

• Sodium is an essential nutrient but at too high of levels in the body it can elevate blood pressure and increase risk for infection

How to remove:

• Reverse osmosis

https://www.lenntech.com/periodic/water/sodium/sodium-and-water.htm 

How it enters water:

• Is a naturally-occurring element and enters water via environmental contact, is not usually present at levels above 10µg/L
• Areas near molybdenum mining operations tend to have much higher levels present in surface waters

Health effects include:

• At high levels, molybdenum is toxic to the liver
• A trace levels, it is considered an “essential nutrient”

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/molybdenum.pdf 
https://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/mo.htm 

How it enters water:

• Most commonly found as phosphates in the environment
• Naturally occurring and enter water via environmental contact
• White phosphorus or “pure” phosphorous” can be released at high concentrations from industrial operations

Health effects include:

• White phosphorus is very poisonous to humans
• Too high levels of phosphates can cause kidney problems

https://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/p.htm 

How it enters water:

• Vanadium is never found unbound in nature 
• Bound vanadium compounds, known as vanadates, are very soluble and readily enter surface waters. The oxidations state of vanadates is 5+.

Health effects include:

• Vanadium at its highest oxidation state (5+) is toxic and can cause:

• • • Cardiovascular disease

    • Damage to nervous system

    • Bleeding of liver and kidneys

How to remove:

• There are no current approved methods to remove vanadium, although ioAt low levels there is no toxicity

How it can be removed:

• Reverse osmosis

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/Fourth_Edition_Bromide_Final_January_2010.pdf 
https://www3.epa.gov/region1/npdes/merrimackstation/pdfs/Comments2RevisedDraftPermit/VanBriesenReport.pdf 

How it enters water:

• Added to municipally-treated water
• Is a naturally-occurring element and can enter water via environmental contact

Health effects include:

• Loss of minerals from teeth and bones (fluorosis)

How it can be removed:

• Reverse osmosis
• Strong base anion exchange

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/fluoride.pdf 

How it enters water:

• It can be produced through natural processes and enter water via environmental contact
• Can also enter water via agricultural runoff, partially treated or untreated sewage, and from some types of fertilizers

Health effects include:

• High levels of phosphates in the body can cause tissue damage and impair kidney function

http://www.water-research.net/index.php/phosphate-in-water
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3120105/

How it enters water:

• Primarily enters water because of its use in industrial processes

Health effects

• If present in lower concentrations and water, can cause:

• • • Breathing difficulty

    • increased blood pressure

    • Changes in heart beat

    • stomach irritation

    • muscle weakness

    • changes in nerve reflexes

    • swelling of brains and liver

• If present in high amounts in water, barium can cause paralysis and death

How to remove:

• Cation exchange
• Reverse osmosis

https://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/ba.htm 

How it enters water:

• A naturally occurring element that is widely distributed in surface water as well as groundwater
• Can be released at high concentrations by industries that use it in production

Health effects include:

• Negative effects on stomach, intestines, kidney, liver and brain at high levels

How to remove:

• Activated carbon filter
• Strong base anion exchange

https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tf.asp?id=452&tid=80 
https://www.aquapurefilters.com/contaminants/112/borate-boron.html 

How it enters water:

• A naturally occurring element and leaches into water from rock and soil deposits

Health effects include:

• Negative effects for dialysis patients

How to remove:

• Reverse osmosis

https://www.wqa.org/Portals/0/Technical/Technical%20Fact%20Sheets/2014_Aluminum.pdf 

How it enters water:

• Occurs naturally at low levels in air, water and soil
• Water from bedrock aquifers that have high strontium composition will have higher concentrations
• A contaminant from phosphate fertilizers

Health effects include:

• In infants and children, high levels of strontium can interfere with tooth and bone growth
• In adults, high levels of strontium are linked to bone cancer and leukemia

How to remove:

• Reverse osmosis

http://www.drinktap.org/water-info/whats-in-my-water/strontium.aspx 

How it enters water:

• Leaches from soil into water 
• Used as a bacteriostat in water treatment devices

Health effects include:

• In the levels silver is found in water, it can cause argyria, which is discoloration of skin, hair and/or various organs

How to remove:

• Reverse osmosis
• Strong acid cation exchange

https://www.wqa.org/Portals/0/Technical/Technical%20Fact%20Sheets/2015_Silver.pdf 

How it enters water:

• Naturally occurring compounds that enter water via erosion of deposits
• Can be present in water at higher levels if the water has come into contact with fertilizers, human sewage, or livestock manure

Health effects include:

• Blue baby syndrome
• Most negative health effects occur in infants 6 months or younger

How to remove:

• Reverse osmosis
• Nitrate selective anion exchange resins

https://www.wqa.org/Portals/0/Technical/Technical%20Fact%20Sheets/2014_NitrateNitrite.pdf

How it enters water:

• Like sodium, potassium is naturally occurring and very soluble
• Higher concentrations of potassium may be found in water near agricultural or industrial operations

Health effects include:

• At very high concentrations in the body, potassium causes arrhythmia (inconsistent heartbeat)

How to remove:

• Reverse osmosis

https://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/k.htm

How it enters water:

• Naturally occurring element that enters water via environmental contact
• Can also enter water as the result of mining activity

Health effects include:

• At high exposure levels, there are potential negative neurological effects, though causation has not been reliably established

How to remove:

• Oxidation filtration, such as the use of Greensand Plus media

https://extension.psu.edu/iron-and-manganese-in-private-water-systems 
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/manganese.pdf 

How it enters water:

• Naturally occurring element that enters water via environmental contact
• Can also enter water as the result of mining activity

Health effects include:

• Iron is an essential nutrient
• At high concentrations in the body, however, it can cause death

How to remove:

• Oxidation filtration, such as the use of Greensand Plus media

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/iron.pdf 
https://extension.psu.edu/iron-and-manganese-in-private-water-systems