What’s Really in Tap Water?

Men drink tap water every day, so even low-level contaminants with endocrine activity can matter for long-term hormonal health. This article focuses on what peer-reviewed research says about waterborne chemicals and male hormones, and what practical steps men can take.

What can be in treated drinking water?

Large monitoring studies show that finished drinking water can contain a mix of pharmaceuticals, pesticide residues and other endocrine-active compounds at ng/L–µg/L levels, even after treatment.

Surveys of U.S. utilities, for example, detected beta-blockers, lipid-lowering drugs, the herbicide atrazine and the estrogen estrone in treated water, with many compounds present at median concentrations below 10 ng/L but occurring together as mixtures.

Systematic assessments of groundwater used for drinking have also found bisphenol A, multiple pharmaceuticals and steroid hormones at low but measurable levels. Reviews of endocrine disruptors in water conclude that anthropogenic contaminants are globally widespread and can reach both surface and drinking water.

While most concentrations are far below acute toxicity thresholds, many of these are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), defined as exogenous substances that alter endocrine system function and cause adverse health effects. The concern is not single high-dose poisoning, but chronic, multi-decade exposure to complex mixtures that can modulate hormone signalling at very low doses.

How do waterborne chemicals affect male hormones?

Reviews of EDCs and male reproductive health describe several mechanisms by which common chemicals can interfere with hormones:

• Acting as weak estrogens or anti-androgens
• Altering hormone synthesis and metabolism
• Disrupting hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) signalling

Human and animal data link EDC exposure to impaired spermatogenesis, reduced sperm counts, testicular dysgenesis and, in some studies, increased risk of testicular cancer. These effects often arise from developmental exposure (fetal or pubertal), but adult exposures can also influence semen parameters and testosterone production.

Water-relevant endocrine disruptors (EDCs)

Water-relevant EDCs include:

• Pesticides and herbicides (e.g. atrazine, glyphosate and others) with estrogenic or anti-androgenic activity
• Plastic-associated chemicals such as bisphenol A and some phthalates, which can bind to estrogen and androgen receptors and perturb steroidogenesis
• Residual steroid hormones from human and animal waste, including estrone and other estrogens, present in surface and drinking waters at ng/L concentrations

Collectively, epidemiologic and experimental studies show associations between EDC exposure and lower sperm counts, poorer sperm morphology, altered reproductive hormones and subfertility, although effect sizes and consistency vary between compounds and populations.

PFAS: “forever chemicals” and male hormones

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are highly persistent chemicals that have become ubiquitous in water, wildlife and humans.

A 2020 review on endocrine disruptors in water notes that PFOA and PFOS exposure in animals damages seminiferous tubules, increases spermatogonial apoptosis and decreases intratesticular testosterone.

Experimental work shows that pubertal PFOS exposure in rats delays Leydig cell maturation, lowers androgen production and down-regulates key steroidogenic enzymes such as CYP11A1, CYP17A1 and HSD17B3.

What human studies suggest

Human data point in the same direction:

• Epidemiologic studies in highly exposed regions (e.g. Veneto, Italy) associate PFOA and PFOS with reduced semen quality, smaller testicular volume, shorter anogenital distance and evidence of antagonism at the androgen receptor
• Reviews of PFAS and male reproductive health report links between PFAS burden and diminished semen quality, increased markers of sperm apoptosis and DNA fragmentation, although findings are not uniform across all cohorts
• More recent work measuring PFAS directly in semen rather than plasma suggests that higher seminal PFAS concentrations associate with lower sperm concentration, total count and motility in healthy men

Put simply, PFAS behave as testicular toxicants and endocrine disruptors in models, and real-world human data support a contribution to reduced sperm quality and potentially to lower androgenic function.

Pharmaceuticals and hormones in drinking water

Targeted monitoring has documented a variety of pharmaceuticals and hormone-like compounds in finished drinking water and distribution systems.

One multi-utility study found atenolol, carbamazepine, gemfibrozil, estrone and others in treated water for more than 28 million people, typically at concentrations below 50 ng/L.

A large survey of groundwater used for drinking in the United States detected bisphenol A, several psychoactive and cardiovascular drugs, antibiotics and steroid hormones in a minority of samples, with hydrocortisone exceeding a human-health benchmark at one site.

Toxicologically, these concentrations are many orders of magnitude below therapeutic doses, but several detected compounds have known endocrine activity or act on hormone-regulated pathways. Reviews argue that, although direct clinical effects from current levels are uncertain, the presence of multiple endocrine-active pharmaceuticals and hormones underscores the importance of mixture effects and sensitive developmental windows.

What this means for men’s hormonal health

Synthesising the peer-reviewed evidence, several themes emerge:

• Men are chronically exposed to low levels of multiple EDCs, PFAS and hormone-like compounds through drinking water, often alongside much larger exposures from food, air and consumer products
• EDCs and PFAS can reduce testosterone synthesis, impair Leydig cell function and antagonise androgen receptor signalling in experimental models, and are associated with poorer semen parameters and altered reproductive hormones in human studies
• The male reproductive system appears particularly vulnerable during fetal life, infancy and puberty, when exposure to EDC mixtures can alter the development of the HPG axis and set a lower baseline for adult function
• For an individual adult man, tap water is unlikely to be the sole or dominant cause of hypogonadism, but it represents one modifiable component of a cumulative endocrine burden over decades

In other words, drinking water contamination should be seen as part of the overall environment that shapes male reproductive potential, rather than as a single catastrophic hit.

What men can do about it

Peer-reviewed papers focus more on exposure and effects than on lifestyle advice, but several practical implications can be drawn from the science.

1) Prefer cleaner water for drinking and cooking

Studies show that treatment processes such as activated carbon, ozonation and advanced oxidation can significantly reduce the concentrations of many pharmaceuticals and organic EDCs in water.

Household-level options that build on similar principles (e.g. activated carbon blocks, reverse osmosis) can therefore reasonably be expected to lower intake of PFAS, pesticides and some hormone-like compounds, although the extent depends on filter design and maintenance.

Using filtered water for all beverages and cooking reduces one route of exposure, particularly important in households with boys and adolescents during key developmental stages.

2) Lower total EDC and PFAS load, not just from water

Reviews emphasise that risk comes from cumulative exposure across multiple media: diet, dust, air, plastics and water. Evidence links dietary intake of contaminated animal products, indoor dust containing plasticisers and PFAS-treated food packaging to EDC burdens that often exceed those from drinking water alone.

For men concerned about hormones, it is rational to:

• Minimise food contact with endocrine-active plastics (e.g. avoid heating food in polycarbonate or soft plastics, favour glass or stainless steel)
• Reduce consumption of highly processed, packaged foods that are more likely to contain contact-derived EDCs
• Limit the use of personal-care products with known endocrine-active ingredients where feasible, based on ingredient lists and available toxicological data

3) Protect and optimise the reproductive axis

While environmental control is important, several well-supported strategies help buffer the reproductive axis against insults:

• Maintaining healthy body composition and avoiding central obesity improves testosterone levels and semen quality, in part by reducing aromatisation and systemic inflammation that can amplify EDC effects
• Regular physical activity and resistance training are associated with higher testosterone and better sperm parameters, independent of environmental exposures
• Adequate intake of key micronutrients (zinc, selenium, folate, omega-3 fatty acids) supports spermatogenesis and protects against oxidative stress, which is one mechanism by which PFAS and other EDCs damage sperm
• If you have testosterone deficiency, treat it if you can’t find a reversible cause… but do look for a reversible cause

These approaches do not eliminate contaminants but improve the resilience of the male reproductive system in the face of unavoidable exposures.

4) Consider testing and clinical evaluation

We can support you at Eden Clinic and offer advanced diagnostics, assessing for vitamin and mineral deficiency as well as looking for heavy metal contamination, and talk you through what to do about it.

Reviews of EDCs and male fertility consistently recommend that environmental exposures be considered in the assessment of male reproductive problems. Men with persistent low libido, erectile dysfunction, subfertility or signs of hypogonadism should have a structured evaluation (including serum testosterone, gonadotropins and, where appropriate, semen analysis), with occupational and environmental history taken alongside lifestyle factors.

While there is currently no routine clinical test that attributes low testosterone directly to tap water, understanding and reducing modifiable exposures is a reasonable adjunct to standard medical care.

Summary

Peer-reviewed research shows that drinking water can carry low-level mixtures of PFAS, pharmaceuticals and other endocrine-active compounds that contribute to the overall chemical load acting on male hormones over a lifetime.

For men, upgrading the quality of the water they drink and cook with, reducing EDC exposures from other sources, and strengthening the underlying reproductive axis are pragmatic steps that align with the best available evidence.

Sources

(Keep these as plain links in Webflow if you want them visible)

1. Endocrine Disruptors in Water and Their Effects on the … (PMC)
2. Endocrine disrupting chemicals and impact on male reproductive … (PMC)
3. Endocrine disrupting chemicals and male fertility (Frontiers, 2023)
4. Endocrine Disruptors in Water and Their Effects on … (PubMed)
5. Pharmaceuticals and Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in U.S. Drinking Water (ACS)
6. Hormones and Pharmaceuticals in Groundwater Used as a Source … (ACS)
7. Reproductive System Track (PMC)
8. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and male reproductive health (Wiley)
9. References and Notes (PMC)
10. PFAS Exposure and Male Reproductive Health (PMC)
11. Toxic effects of PFAS on sperm (PMC)
12. PFAS in semen associated with semen quality (PubMed)
13. PFAS mixture analysis and semen quality (ScienceDirect)
14. Pharmaceuticals & hormones in my water? (APEC Water)
15. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and male reproductive health (ScienceDirect)

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