Small amounts of the antidepressant Prozac can be found in the nation’s drinking water, it was revealed by the environmental agency.

A report in the Observer newspaper report that the government environmental watchdog are currently discussing the impact on human health.

A spokesman for the drinking water Inspectorate (DWI) said Prozac was most likely to be in a highly dilute state in the nation’s drinking water.

The newspaper said that environmentalists are calling for an urgent investigation into the evidence.

The Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, said that the picture which is emerging looks like the case of hidden mass medication upon an unsuspecting public.

The DWI said that Prozac’s known as fluoxetine is unlikely to pose a health risk because it is so watered down.

In the decade leading up to 2001 the number of prescriptions has radically increased for   depressants risen dramatically from 9 million per year to 24,000,000 per year, reports the paper.

A follow-up article in the recently covered by independent, reports that the levels of antidepressants in UK soil have a marked effect on breeding woodland birds, with a  drop in UK populations of birds. The report, stated that samples taken from Earth worms reveal levels of antidepressants which has a marked effect on bird reproduction .

According to 2011 figures the costs for antidepressant prescribing rose by £49.8 million to £270 million, a rise of 22.6% on 2010 its not surprising that some of the antidepressants are  leeching back into the system. One has to ask what is the long-term effect of having antidepressants in our water supply, however mild. Of course, there is a simple answer, which may appear controversial, if government were to  spend more money on talking  therapies, not only would this be healthier for the environment but also the person with depression.