AMHERST - Researchers at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst are set to begin a one-year study of pharmaceutical levels in New England drinking water supplies.

A recent investigation by the Associated Press revealed that a vast array of pharmaceuticals have been detected in minute levels in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas.

The $150,000 UMass project has been in the works for about two years. Researchers plan to test unfiltered water entering more than a dozen wastewater treatment plants and analyze how well the purification systems filter out the drugs.

The study will also try to better determine if the presence of the medicines can be harmful to people or to wildlife.