Section 809.957. Special notice for exceedance of the secondary maximum contaminant level for fluoride.

 

(1)   Timing of the special notice. Water suppliers for community water systems that exceed the fluoride secondary maximum contaminant level of 2 mg/l as specified in s. NR 809.70 , determined by the last single sample taken in accordance with s. NR 809.113 , but that do not exceed the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 4 mg/l for fluoride, as specified in s. NR 809.11 , shall provide the public notice in sub. (3) to persons served. Public notice shall be provided as soon as practical but no later than 12 months from the day the public water system learns of the exceedance. A copy of the notice shall also be sent to all new billing units and new customers at the time service begins and to the state public health officer at the department of health services. The water supplier shall repeat the notice at least annually for as long as the secondary maximum contaminant level is exceeded. If the public notice is posted, the notice shall remain in place for as long as the secondary maximum contaminant level is exceeded, but in no case less than 7 days, even if the exceedance is eliminated. On a case-by-case basis, the department may require an initial notice sooner than 12 months and repeat notices more frequently than annually.

(2)   Form and manner of the special notice. The form and manner of the public notice, including repeat notices, shall follow the requirements for a Tier 3 public notice in s. NR 809.953 (3) and (4) (a) and (c) .

(3)  S pecial notice standard language. The notice shall contain the following language, including the language necessary to fill in the blanks: This is an alert about your drinking water and a cosmetic dental problem that might affect children under 9 years of age. At low levels, fluoride can help prevent cavities, but children drinking water containing more than 2 milligrams per liter (mg/l) of fluoride may develop cosmetic discoloration of their permanent teeth known as dental fluorosis. The drinking water provided by your community water system [name] has a fluoride concentration of [insert value] mg/l. Dental fluorosis, in its moderate or severe forms, may result in a brown staining and/or pitting of the permanent teeth. This problem occurs only in developing teeth, before they erupt from the gums. Children under 9 should be provided with alternative sources of drinking water or water that has been treated to remove the fluoride to avoid the possibility of staining and pitting of their permanent teeth. You may also want to contact your dentist about proper use by young children of fluoride-containing products. Older children and adults may safely drink the water. Drinking water containing more than 4 mg/L of fluoride, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water standard, can increase your risk of developing bone disease. Your drinking water does not contain more than 4 mg/l of fluoride, but we are required to notify you when we discover that the fluoride levels in your drinking water exceed 2 mg/l because of this cosmetic dental problem. For more information, please call [name of the public water system contact] of [name of community water system] at [phone number]. Some home water treatment units are also available to remove fluoride from drinking water. To learn more about available home water treatment units, you may call NSF International at 1-877-8-NSF-HELP.

CR 09-073 : cr. Register November 2010 No. 659 , eff. 12-1-10; correction in (1) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7. , Stats., Register November 2010 No. 659 .