IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER ESTE

Myerstown Water Authority will stop adding fluoride to your drinking water. We have received an amended operation permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which allows us to stop adding hydrofluorosilicic acid (fluoride) to your drinking water. The PA Safe Drinking Water Act and Regulations require the Authority to obtain a permit prior to making any substantial modification to our treatment facilities. A condition of the permit, which allows us to stop adding fluoride, requires the Authority to notify our customers before we stop. Many water systems add fluoride to the water to improve dental health among consumers, particularly children. When fluoride is added for this purpose, the optimal concentration is 1.0 mg/L. The average concentration in the Myerstown system in 2010 was 0.96 mg/L. The Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for fluoride is 2 mg/L; the average concentration may not exceed this concentration. Fluoride is not naturally occurring in the water supplies used by Myerstown, so your drinking water will have no fluoride when we stop adding it on January 31, 2012. What should I do? This is not an emergency. If it had been, we would have notified you immediately. The Myerstown Water Authority is providing this notice so its customers are informed of the change in treatment. We are making this change because the Authority recognizes there are conflicting opinions about the benefits of water fluoridation. Pennsylvania does not require public water suppliers to fluoridate; therefore, we have decided to stop. Parents of young children, and anyone else wanting the benefits of fluoridation, should discuss this change with their doctors to determine if fluoride supplements should be used. Otherwise, the taste and quality of your water will remain unchanged and you need to make no changes or take any actions. What will happen? Myerstown Water Authority will stop fluoride to your drinking water on January 31, 2012 This is not an emergency; however, as our customer, you have a right to know what will happen with your water supply. If you have questions, please contact Mr. Chris A. Strause at 717-866-9301. Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

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