Water quality reports for consumers in the mail
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Posted May 5, 2008 |
By Stacie Crozier If you'd like to know more about what's in your water, watch your mailbox. Water suppliers nationwide will be mailing annual Water Quality Reports or Consumer Confidence Reports to consumers between now and July 1.
The reports, which detail quality and content of water may be mailed to consumers' homes (often with the water bill), published in local newspapers or posted online. Water systems are required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue annual reports.
Dentists and consumers who are served by fluoridated water systems should check to make sure their water continues to be optimally fluoridated, says Dr. Leon Stanislav, member of the ADA Council on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations and chair of the National Fluoridation Advisory Committee.
"Please read the fine print in the Consumer Confidence Reports," said Dr. Stanislav. "While there is an obligation to advise consumers about what is in their water, a major change such as the discontinuance of fluoridation may not get special attention. It is up to the dental community to promote and preserve the benefits of community water fluoridation."
For more information or to view selected CCRs, log on to the EPA Web site at www.epa.gov/safewater/ccr/index.html  or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site to check on local water system fluoridation status at http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/MWF/Index.asp .
Or contact the local water supplier or the local, county or state health department for more information about the fluoride content of your water system's water.
For more information on fluoride and fluoridation, visit www.ada.org/goto/fluoride.
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