The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission is reducing the fluoride in the water it delivers to 1.9 million customers in the District’s Maryland suburbs because of supply chain issues caused by the war in Iran.
The utility said Tuesday it’s making the reduction at the Potomac and Patuxent water filtration plants, serving its customers in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, from 0.7 milligrams per liter to 0.4 milligrams per liter.
WSSC Water said the supply chain issue involves the chemical hydrofluorosilicic acid, which is used to fluoridate community water supplies. Fluoridation is intended to help protect residents from tooth decay.
In addition to a drop in domestic production, output from other sources has fallen. That includes a supplier in Israel that has “experienced significant operational impacts,” WSSC Water said.
“This is a temporary adjustment driven solely by supply availability. We remain committed to maintaining safe, high-quality drinking water and will restore optimal fluoride levels as soon as supply conditions stabilize,” said Ben Thompson, director of production for WSSC Water.
As opposed to the WSSC Water system, the federally operated Washington Aqueduct is not having issues with its fluoride supply.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District told The Washington Times in a statement that “despite reports of local fluoride supply disruptions, the Washington Aqueduct’s water treatment remains unaffected. … there have been no changes to treatment operations. Leadership is actively tracking the supply chain to maintain consistent service to our three wholesale customers: DC Water, Fairfax Water and Arlington County.”
The Washington Aqueduct, the federally operated supplier of water to 1 million customers, has not responded to The Washington Times’ request for comment on fluoride supply issues or cutbacks.
In addition to WSSC Water, the town of Lititz, Pennsylvania, 75 miles northwest of Philadelphia, stopped fluoridating its water from March 21 to 26 due to problems with securing hydrofluorosilicic acid.
The town’s officials did not say whether the shortfall was due to lower domestic output or problems getting it from abroad.
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