Only half of the experimental subjects who initially thought that their symptoms were due to fluoridated water were confirmed to have a symptom that was caused by fluoride drops which were added to coded bottles of water. One might hypothesize that some of these people who thought it was the fluoride were being harmed by something else in the water. It was good enough to be within the limits for copper in waste water set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency. Adding sodium hydroxide is a quick and easy solution to the copper pollution. A better solution might be to replace the copper tubes with steel tubes and revise the building codes for metal tubing.
Copper tubing is easier to bend to a desired shape because it is softer than steel tubing.
It takes a little more time to install steel tubing, but the long term benefit would be worth it. The cost of sodium hydroxide would be avoided. Not using sodium hydroxide may prevent adverse effects upon the health of some individuals. Adding sodium hydroxide is not the only alternative for complying with Environmental Protection Agency standards.