Wisconsin Administrative Code › Department of Natural Resources › NR 800 - Environmental Protection - Water Supply › Chapter NR 809 - Safe Drinking Water › Subchapter VII - Public Notification of Drinking Water Violations › Section NR 809.957 - Special notice for exceedance of the secondary maximum contaminant level for fluoride

Current through June 24, 2024
(1) TIMING OF THE SPECIAL NOTICE. Water
				  suppliers for community water systems that exceed the fluoride secondary
				  maximum contaminant level of 2 mg/l as specified in s.
				  NR
				  809.70, determined by the last single sample taken in
				  accordance with s.
				  NR
				  809.113, but that do not exceed the maximum
				  contaminant level (MCL) of 4 mg/l for fluoride, as specified in s.
				  NR
				  809.11, shall provide the public notice in sub. (3) to
				  persons served. Public notice shall be provided as soon as practical but no
				  later than 12 months from the day the public water system learns of the
				  exceedance. A copy of the notice shall also be sent to all new billing units
				  and new customers at the time service begins and to the state public health
				  officer at the department of health services. The water supplier shall repeat
				  the notice at least annually for as long as the secondary maximum contaminant
				  level is exceeded. If the public notice is posted, the notice shall remain in
				  place for as long as the secondary maximum contaminant level is exceeded, but
				  in no case less than 7 days, even if the exceedance is eliminated. On a
				  case-by-case basis, the department may require an initial notice sooner than 12
				  months and repeat notices more frequently than annually.
(2) FORM AND MANNER OF THE SPECIAL NOTICE.
				  The form and manner of the public notice, including repeat notices, shall
				  follow the requirements for a Tier 3 public notice in s.
				  NR
				  809.953(3) and (4) (a) and
				  (c).
(3) Special notice standard language. The
				  notice shall contain the following language, including the language necessary
				  to fill in the blanks: This is an alert about your drinking water and a
				  cosmetic dental problem that might affect children under 9 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 known as dental fluorosis. The
				  drinking water provided by your community water system [name] has a fluoride
				  concentration of [insert value] mg/l. Dental fluorosis, in its moderate or
				  severe forms, 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 9 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, the U.S.
				  Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water standard, can increase your
				  risk of developing bone disease. Your drinking water does not contain more than
				  4 mg/l of fluoride, but we are required to notify you when we discover that the
				  fluoride levels in your drinking water exceed 2 mg/l because of this cosmetic
				  dental problem. For more information, please call [name of the public water
				  system contact] of [name of community water system] at [phone number]. 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
				  NSF International at 1-877-8-NSF-HELP.