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GATESVILLE – Plans continue to develop, to include providing bottled water to certain citizens, due to elevated levels of fluoride in Gates County’s groundwater.

Based on recent testing, the level of fluoride found in the wells serving the Gates County Public Water System are at 2.8 milligrams per liter.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advises that drinking water should have no more than 2 milligrams per liter (mg/l) of fluoride. At low levels, fluoride can help prevent cavities, but children drinking water containing more than 2.0 mg/l of fluoride may develop dental fluorosis. Dental fluorosis, in its moderate or severe forms, may result in brown staining and/or pitting of the permanent teeth. This problem occurs only in developing teeth, before they erupt from the gums.

Based on recent testing, Gates County and Albemarle Regional Health Services (ARHS) recommend the following per EPA guidelines:

Children eight years and younger 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, if their main source of water contains more than 2.0 mg/L of fluoride.

Per the CDC, pregnant women or parents of children eight years and younger who live in areas with higher fluoride concentrations can use lowfluoride bottled water, for instance to mix infant formula.

Cooking with Gates County water is safe since the fluoride levels are below 4.0mg/l.

Fluoride is not absorbed through skin so water levels above 2 mg/L can still be used for cleaning and bathing.

Older children and adults may safely drink the water.

Families may also want to contact your dentist about proper use of fluoride-containing products for young children.

To assist residents who fall in the above categories who may not have immediate access to alternate drinking water, Gates County local government began developing plans last week to provide bottled water. They had initially planned to begin distributing that water this week, but those plans have changed due to a situation beyond their control.

“We learned on Monday that bottled water shipments are directed to western North Carolina due to relief efforts there from Hurricane Helene,” said Gates County Manager Scott Sauer. “Our fellow state citizens in the mountains need help immediately. We’re putting our plans on hold, but we’re still planning to roll it out as soon as the supply of bottled water returns to normal.”

Local health officials say that individuals utilizing private wells may wish to have their water tested for fluoride levels. Please contact the Gates County Health Department for additional information on water quality testing at 252-357-1380. Please note that any testing conducted will have a fee associated with it.

For the information on treatment systems for reducing fluoride levels review the factsheet from the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) which covers treatment systems that can be effective for fluoride and other contaminants. The factsheet is designed primarily for private well users, but these technologies can be used for any drinking water source, especially reverse osmosis systems.

While the official guidelines on water testing and fluoride levels have not changed and Gates County officials have been compliant with all testing and reporting requirements, state and local officials have recently been made aware of a report by the National Toxicity Program (NTP) that was released on August 21. The study – entitled “Fluoride

Exposure: Neurodevelopment and Cognition” – concluded that higher levels of fluoride exposure, such as drinking water containing more than 1.5 mg/L, are associated with lower IQ in children. Please note this study states “associated” and does not suggest fluoride levels cause lower IQ. According to the NPR report, they state the study is not conclusive evidence and additional studies are needed.

Upon the release of this report, and the fact that Gates County is in planning stages for upgrades to its water treatment facility, state and local officials decided to take a closer look at current levels to determine the best course of action for any mitigation strategies or future work that will be needed. Gates County will continue to test the public water supply weekly for the next few months to monitor the situation.

In addition, county officials are working with representatives from the NC General Assembly to request special appropriations to conduct an additional study of the public water supply, to include a comprehensive hydrological study as well as placing as many as six test wells, to assist with the construction of future water system improvements.

The county currently has plans to install two new deep wells and upgrade the water treatment facility over the next three to five years.

Each year, Gates County issues a fluoride drinking water notice to its residents based on the naturally occurring elevated fluoride levels found in the Gates County water supply. Recently, Gates County has been conducting additional water testing of the public water supply to get a better understanding of elevated fluoride levels. Fluoride is a naturally occurring element and some areas have more than others.

Water samples taken Sept. 4 from the three wells supplying the Gates County Public Water System yielded the following results:

Well #1 – 3.2 milligrams per liter (allowable limit is 4.0)

Well #2 – 1.0 milligrams per liter

Well #3 – 1.1 milligrams per liter

The blended effluent leaving the water plant, sampled on the same date, was 3.1 mg/l.

A decision was made to shut down well #1.

A second sampling on Sept. 11 yielded the following results:

Well #2 – 0.78 mg/l

Well #3 – 3.1 mg/l

The blended effluent leaving the water plant, sampled on Sept. 11, was 3.1 mg/l.

A third sampling on Sept. 18 yielded the following results:

Well #2 – 0.65 mg/l

Well #3 – 3.0 mg/l

The blended effluent leaving the water plant, sampled on Sept. 18, was 2.8 mg/l