Currently the Town of Edson is dealing with a slightly higher than normal fluoride level in our water supply system. This stems from a shutdown of a few of our ‘feeder’ wells that normally dilute the system to install the new CT Disinfectant systems on those wells.
The Town of Edson’s water supply comes from wells. We currently have 11 wells, with some being high producers, and others being low production wells. Our largest production comes from Well #18 which is located on the Ansel Tower Road.
Managing naturally occurring fluoride levels has been and will continue to be a long-term focus for the Town of Edson’s well water supply. Naturally occurring fluoride can be found in all natural waters at varying concentrations. Some of our wells, including #18, contain NATURALLY occurring fluoride at levels higher than Health Canada standards. To mitigate the fluoride, we mix water produced from Well #18 with water from wells with little or no fluoride.
As we’ve been upgrading our wells with the CT Disinfectant systems , some of the diluter wells were shut down resulting in varying fluoride levels. The actual level will vary depending on which wells are being used at the time and where in the community the measurement is being taken. As per the attached letter , the highest measured level is above the acceptable limit of 1.5mg/L for Alberta Health Services. Measurements taken between March 2013 and March 2014 show the naturally occurring fluoride levels ranged from 0.11 mg/L to 2.21 mg/L. It is to be expected that the levels of naturally occurring fluoride will continue to fluctuate in our community’ s water supply and the health advice provided by Alberta Health Services in the attached will continue to remain in place.
It should be noted that the Town is working hard to maintain low levels of fluoride in our drinking water and this is NOT a prolonged exposure to high fluoride levels. As the disinfectant system upgrades are completed this month the diluter wells will come back online which will assist us in managing the levels of naturally occurring fluoride in the community’ s water.
If you have an y questions about the Town’s water supply please contact the Town of Edson Public Works Department at 780- 723-6461. If you have health-related questions regarding fluoride in drinking water please call Health Link Alberta at 1 – 866-408 -5465.
Media Contact:
Steve Bethge, Communications Coordinator
Town of Edson
780-723-4401
steveb@edson.ca
www.edson.ca
NOTE FROM FAN:
See June 20, 2014, press report