LEBEC, California (Wednesday, April 7, 2010, 5 p.m.)—This is a news release sent out by Lebec County Water District:

Our water system recently violated a drinking water standard. Although this is not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what you should do, what happened, and what we are doing to correct this situation.

We routinely monitor for the presence of drinking water contaminants. Water sample results received on November 26,2009, April 7, 2009, and July 7,2009 showed that the drinking water provided by Lebec County Water District has a fluoride concentration of 2.2 mg/L. This is above the standard, or maximum contaminant level (MCL), of 2.0 mg/L. Fluoride MCL compliance is based on running annual average value from last four consecutive quarters.

What should I do?

• Children under the age of nine should use an alternative source of water that is low in fluoride. You may also want to contact your dentist about proper use by young children of fluoride-containing products.

• This is not an emergency. If it had been, you would have been notified immediately. Rather, this is an alert about your drinking water and a cosmetic dental problem that might affect children under nine 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 (dental fluorosis).

• Dental fluorosis 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 nine 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 can increase your risk of developing bone disease. Although bone disease may develop in anyone exposed to years of drinking water containing more than 4 mg/L of fluoride, dental fluorosis can occur after a relatively short period of exposure (i.e. months) in children under the age of nine.

• For other health issues concerning the consumption of this water, you may wish to consult your doctor.

• 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 the California Department of Health Services Water Treatment Device Unit at (916) 449-5600 or visit the Department’s website at http://www.cdph.ca .gov Icertlic/d evice/Pages/watertreatmentdevices. aspx. [sic: link doesn’t work]

What happened? What is being done?

Fluoride contamination is rarely due to human activity. Fluoride occurs naturally in some areas and is found in high concentrations in our source water.

We will be working with the California Department of Public Health to resolve the fluoride problem.

For more information, please call Jamie Guinn or Michelle Miller of Lebec County Water District at 661-248-6872.

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 public notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

Secondary Notification Requirements

Upon receipt of notification from a person operating a public water system, the following notification must be given within 10 days [Health and Safety Code Section 116450(g)]:

• SCHOOLS: Must notify school employees, students, and parents (if the students are minors).

• RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTY OWNERS OR MANAGERS (including nursing homes and care facilities): Must notify tenants.

• BUSINESS PROPERTY OWNERS, MANAGERS, OR OPERATORS: Must notify employees of businesses located on the property.

This notice is being sent to you by Lebec County Water District.
State Water System 10#: 1510051.

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