Defense officials announced Thursday evening that it is safe to drink tap water at Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base.
For about two days, the water supply for the two bases was contaminated with excessive amounts of fluoride.
Starting Wednesday morning, base officials warned people who live and work at the two installations against drinking, brushing their teeth or cooking with the tap water.
In a press release issued at 5 p.m. Thursday, Elmendorf officials said people at home at both facilities should turn on all of their hot and cold water taps and allow them to run for 15 minutes to flush out any old water that remains in the pipes.
The faulty equipment that caused the fluoride contamination has been removed from service, according to the Elmendorf release.
Fort Richardson Water Treatment Plant workers discovered early Wednesday morning that the level of fluoride in the water exceeded the state’s safety threshold. That threshold for fluoride is 4 parts per million but the water contained as much as 11 parts per million, a utility official said.
Print 
PDF