There is growing concern about the presence of various personal care and pharmaceutical products in drinking water. Research has shown that ozone can be an effective measuring for lowering these levels. This appears to be the case for the city of Windsor Ontario. The amount of pharmaceuticals in the Detroit River and tap water produced from this source are judged to be extremely low and not a threat to human health according to the Canadian Ministry of Environment.
In research that goes back to 2008, water samples were taken for a year to look for 51 pharmaceutical compounds. 14 of them — pain killers such as ibuprofen and hormones from contraceptives such as birth control pills — were found in low levels in the Detroit River. The highest levels were found near the sewage treatment plant.
Windsor’s ozone water treatment process removed most of the pharmaceuticals from drinking water. this is consistent with research done by the Southern Nevada Water District. Based on that work, the sewage treatment facility for Las Vegas decided to use ozone to disinfect its wastewater prior to discharge to Lake Mead with the goal of reducing the presence of pharmaceutical compounds in the water.
Other cities besides Windsor and Las Vegas are looking at ozone for both drinking water protection and wastewater purification.