2009 Water Quality Report click here
Fluoride Notice
At Easton Utilities, we are committed to providing clean, reliable water to our customers. The following information details the fluoride concentration and its potential health effects in the drinking water supplied by Easton Utilities. The Maryland Department of the Environment recently conducted a monitoring program to test fluoride levels in about fifteen ground water supplies on the Eastern Shore where fluoride is naturally occurring. This program collected samples at each well.
Two of the six wells that supply water to the Town of Easton are approximately 1,200 feet deep. Three of the wells are 1,000 feet deep. The remaining well is approximately 670 feet deep. Compared to many other wells used for water supplies, these wells have a very high degree of protection from man-made contamination. As a result, the chemical constituents in the water provided by these deep wells are naturally occurring.
The most recent samples collected from five of the six wells supplying water to the Easton System range from 0.58 to 2.08 milligrams per liter (mg/l) of fluoride. In September 2008 we stopped using a well that had fluoride levels of 3.07 mg/l and it has been disconnected from the system. As a result, the highest possible level of fluoride in the drinking water is 0.08 mg/l over the U.S. EPA secondary standard of 2.0 mg/l. The one well with 2.08 mg/l of fluoride is blended with the production of the other wells and it provides less than 13% of the total water supply. However, since it is possible that some customers could receive water that is 0.08 mg/l over the secondary standard, we are required by the State of Maryland to provide the following language in this Public Notice.
"Federal regulations require that fluoride, which occurs naturally in your water supply, not exceed a concentration of 4.0 mg/l in drinking water. This is an enforceable standard called a Maximum Contaminant Level (MIL), and it has been established to protect the public health. Exposure to drinking water levels above 4.0 mg/l for many years may result in some cases of crippling skeletal fluorosis, which is a serious bone disorder.Federal law also requires that we notify you when monitoring indicates that the fluoride in your drinking water exceeds 2.0 mg/l. This is intended to alert families about dental problems that might affect children under age nine. The fluoride concentration of your water exceeds this federal guideline.
Fluoride in children's drinking water at levels of approximately 1 mg/l reduces the number of dental cavities. However, some children exposed to levels of fluoride greater than about 2.0 mg/l may develop dental fluorosis. Dental fluorosis, in its moderate and severe forms, is a brown staining and/or pitting of the permanent teeth.
Because dental fluorosis occurs only when developing teeth (before they erupt from the gums) are exposed to elevated fluoride levels, households without children are not expected to be affected by this level of fluoride. Families with children under age nine are encouraged to seek other sources of drinking water for their children to avoid the possibility of staining and pitting.
Your water supplier can lower the concentration of fluoride in your water so that you will still receive the benefits of cavity prevention while the possibility of stained and pitted teeth is minimized. Removal of fluoride may increase your water costs. Treatment systems are also commercially available for home use. Information on such systems is available at the address given below. Low fluoride bottled drinking water that would meet all standards is also commercially available.
Easton Utilities is confident that very few customers are exposed to fluoride levels that exceed the secondary standard and that this exposure is not continuous. For further information, contact Talbot Bone, Manager of the Water and Wastewater Department, at 410-822-6110.