Editor’s Note: El Paso Matters is partnering with Gigafact to produce “fact briefs” that examine claims about issues shaping our community.
YES.
Average lithium concentrations in El Paso were 55 micrograms per liter from samples collected in July 2023 to January 2024 – about 42% higher than the average level of lithium detected across water utilities in Texas and New Mexico, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data shows.
An April 2024 EPA report shows that about 70% of water utilities in those states detected lithium in their water supplies. Lithium occurs naturally in the groundwater in dry areas of the western U.S. like El Paso that rely on groundwater and that were once ancient seabeds.
Lithium in El Paso’s drinking water is roughly 1,000 times less concentrated than lithium that’s used to treat mental disorders. El Paso Water’s CEO and an Arizona State University researcher said it would be prohibitively expensive to remove lithium from El Paso’s drinking water, with little public health benefit.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
SOURCES:
Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, Lithium occurrence in drinking water sources of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule Data Finder
Environmental Protection Agency, Technical Fact Sheet: Lithium in drinking water
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