Must be something in the water....

Apparently we are being drugged through our drinking water. Trace amounts of pharmaceuticals have been found nationally and in New York's reseviors. Time for my sarcastic side to come out. Does this mean that pharma is going to start trying to claim intellectual property rights on drinking water? Pfizer gets a certain region, Merck another, etc. Or better yet, bottle the water and sell it as a "healing tonic". We already pay multiple dollars for bottled water, why not pay $50/month for medicated water?
Alright, enough with the sarcasm, down to the real issue. What are the implications of these findings? Many people are saying that the amounts are so trace, there is not a sustantial impact from them. But, as the article about the situation in NY states, it appears to be affecting marine life. What other ecological effects do these trace amounts have over time? Not too mention, trace or not, there are just some substances I do not want to have in my body.
So, now that the AP has released this information, what do we do with it? The arcticles do point out that water testing procedures do not include testing for pharmaceuticals. It appears that this could be a point for environmental and health advocacy. As we continue to take increasing amounts of presciption drugs over the years, how will this affect our water? Our environment? My solution - we should tell people in upstate New York to quit dumping out their drugs in the toilet. That will solve everything!
As always, the Onion puts it into perspective.