Something could be in the water.

The N.C. Cooperative Extension Service’s Watauga County Advisory Council met Monday to discuss Operation Medicine Cabinet, an effort to collect and dispose of unused pharmaceutical drugs to keep them out of local waterways.

Shea Tuberty, a biology professor at Appalachian State University, said the grassroots effort started three years ago when data showed higher chemical l evels in rivers and streams. Students became interested in the issue, and local organizations joined in.

Tuberty said he had a background in studying the effects of trace metals and chemicals on animal and plant life. Tuberty said toxicology studies had suggested contaminant levels were building up in the environment.

“When you flush the toilet, each and every time you’re contributing to the chemicals in the river,” Tuberty said. While municipal wastewater gets processed, Tuberty said only a limited number of compounds are analyzed and treated. He said an increasing number of chemicals were entering the water system and many had unknown effects.

“People in the know who have studied this over the past 20 years are really, really concerned,” Tuberty said. He said flame retardants in clothes, make-up ingredients, cleansers, and personal-care items weren’t regulated. He singled out estrogen in birth-control pills as a chemical that disrupted natural processes and had shown measurable impacts on the environment.

He said the ratios of female-to-male genders were changing, with observations suggesting that fish were becoming “feminized,” with alterations in serum levels and coloring. “From dozens of studies done worldwide on dozens of species, we can show there is negative impact,” he said, saying a decline in sperm count could be one result of the contamination.

A 10-year U.S. Geologic Survey said that 70 to 90 percent of male black bass showed feminine characteristics, which presented not just functional deficiencies but also altered the behaviors of the fish. Steroids, detergents, plasticizers and prescription drugs were other identifiable culprits.

Tuberty said none of those substances were regulated, and even though prescription drugs were not the largest contributor to chemical contamination, they were an area that could be publicly addressed. Private wells are also not immune to pollutants, Tuberty said, with insect repellent the most common contaminant, followed by plasticizers and fire retardants. Antibiotics were also prevalent, which Tuberty said increases likelihood of antibiotic-resistant germs and diseases emerging.

Tuberty said the public could address contamination by taking advantage of take-back programs and having the drugs incinerated. “I think we’re going to have a really successful first program,” Tuberty said of Operation Medicine Cabinet.

Wendy Patoprsty, river specialist with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, said this take-back program was a model for the state and couldn’t be held at pharmacies. Federal permits are required, as well as the involvement of local law-enforcement agencies.

“This is a local issue that we can actually do something about,” Patoprsty said.

Tuberty said opponents of Boone’s planned 4 million-gallon water intake on the New River in Todd had brought up pharmaceutical contamination as an issue, and he said he was “staying on the fence.”

“Everybody downstream could point the finger upstream and say, ‘You’re messing our water up,’ and it would be true,” he said, acknowledging there was no specific data on how Boone’s treatment plant affected downstream aquatic populations.

Operation Medicine Cabinet takes place Oct. 3 from 9 a.m. until noon. The collection points are the three Food Lion grocery stores in the county and at Seven Devils Town Hall (see sidebar).