Every year, illnesses costs the country a substantial amount for care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that waterborne diseases could be burdening the country with nearly $540 million in treatment costs annually.

The figure was derived from reviewing insurance claims from patients who were hospitalized for common waterborne diseases.

Illnesses such as legionnaires' disease, cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis can have symptoms that range from mild to severe. In more extreme cases, the Mayo Clinic says that life-threatening complications can arise from waterborne diseases. Legionnaires' disease, for example, they say lead to kidney or respiratory failure.

The research shows that even sickness from diseases that are thought to have minor symptoms can turn into costly situations.

"These cost data highlight that water-related diseases pose not only a physical burden to the thousands of people sickened by them each year, but also a substantial burden in health care costs, including direct government payments through Medicare and Medicaid," says study author Michael Beach.

People who think they are sick should not avoid medical care due to fear of costs. Sometimes a sickness that seems negligible can spiral into something more severe if not taken care of promptly.