Elephant Butte Water System: Elevated Fluoride Levels Detected

This is an alert about Elephant Butte drinking water and a cosmetic dental problem that might affect children under nine 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 (dental fluorosis). The drinking water provided by the Elephant Butte Water System had the following concentrations of fluoride.

Sample Location Sample Date Result (mg/L)
Booster Pump #2, Facility ID 30827011 2/20/2024 2.6

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 nine 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 US 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’re required to notify you when we discover that the fluoride levels in your drinking water exceeded 2 mg/l because of this cosmetic dental problem.

For more information, please call Staci Avendano of the Elephant Butte Water System at (575) 744-5974. 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 (877) 8-NSF-HELP.

Fluoride contamination is rarely due to human activity. Fluoride occurs naturally in some areas and is found in high concentrations in our source water.

We are continuing to monitor fluoride levels. We will inform you if they exceed the level of 4 mg/l.