Delaware Office of Drinking Water Office of Drinking Water 655 Bay Road, Suite 203 Dover, DE 19901 302.741.8630 Fax: 302.741.8631 Tap Talk H2Oh! Tapping Into Good Health Myth or Fact: Bottle Water is Better By Donna Trader Bottled water costs about 500 times more than tap. A recent study found that kids who drink bottled water have a higher risk of cavities in their baby teeth than children who drink tap water, why? Most public water systems are fluoridated, and most bottled waters are not. In many areas of the country, tap water is safe and healthy – and the fluoride it contains helps prevent cavities. But if you choose to go for an unfluoridated bottled variety, ask your pediatrician and dentist whether you should give your child fluoride supplements; a new recommendation published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine says that supplements are a good idea if your child’s not getting fluoride from your water. We sip 60 million bottles of water a day in our cars, at the gym, behind our desk. Those bottles are being tossed into landfills, where they can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade. Recycling helps but reusing is even better. Invest in a couple of portable, dishwasher-safe, stainless steel bottles. Don’t get into the habit of refilling the water bottle you just emptied; the polyethylene terephthalate it’s made of breaks down with multiple using. Tap water is tested daily. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, water suppliers are required to provide an annual report on the quality of your local water and to test tap water daily. By comparison, the FDA examines bottled water only weekly, and consumers can’t get the agency’s results. You can easily get the results on your state’s drinking water quality at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html DELAWARE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES Division of Public Health Office of Drinking Water Doc. No. 35-05-20/08/03/24 The Administrator’s Corner By Ed Hallock Program Administrator Office of Drinking Water In my last report I noted that we had lost two employees. ODW is happy to report this time that we have replaced both of them and are now, once again, fully staffed. Tommy Stepnay has been hired as the Environmental Control Technician II for the northern territory. Many of you may already know Tommy since he has been serving in that capacity as a casual/seasonal employee. Jim Richardson has been hired to fill the Environmental Health Specialist II position for the northern territory. Jim comes to us with a lot of experience in the wastewater field and is looking forward to the challenges of implementing the Safe Drinking Water Act. ODW is looking forward to working with both gentlemen. I want to remind all community water system owners that the time for distributing your annual consumer confidence report is fast approaching. The Office of Drinking Water will be sending out your water sample results in mid to late March this year. I want to take a moment to thank our data entry staffs who have done an excellent job of ensuring that all test results are entered into SDWIS in a timely manner. We will be holding training sessions in March and April. I want to recognize the City of Wilmington for their work in getting the Cool Spring finished water reservoir covered. It has been a huge project and much work has been done to date. Once this project is completed the residents will have a safer water supply and a new park for recreational activities that they can enjoy. This project was a win-win for everybody involved. Employee Spotlight Richard Relford: Richard Relford joined the Office of Drinking Water as an Environmental Control Technician in October of 2006 after retiring from the United States Air Force and FedEx. Richard is a Vietnam Veteran and an avid golfer. Richard is married with 2 sons. Richard primarily works in the Southeast and Southwest territories. Employee Spotlight Corinne Stayton: Corinne Stayton accepted the Administrative Assistant II position with the Office of Drinking Water in March 2007. She is responsible for administrative duties in the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program. Before arriving at ODW, Corinne worked with the Dental program at DHSS. Corinne is currently enrolled at Wilmington University where she is completing her Early Childhood Education degree. Corinne’s hobbies include photography, traveling, and spending lots of time with her daughter Averie. Public Notices 2008 System Name Violation Date Issued Date Returned to Compliance Frederica Water Department Treatment 08/17/07 Pending Guardian Angels Daycare MTBE 11/16/07 03/18/08 Gulls Way Campground Nitrate 09/25/07 Pending Hockers Supercenter Nitrate 03/03/08 04/04/08 Lakeland Mobile Home Park Bacti 01/29/08 Pending Lloyds Deli and Resale Shop Nitrate 01/04/08 Pending National Vulcanized Fiber II Bacti 08/16/07 01/07/08 Pepper Ridge DBP 01/09/08 Pending Pickering Beach Bacti 09/25/07 12/18/07 Sandcastle Daycare MTBE 05/16/07 09/12/07 Savannah Place Nitrate 03/07/07 Pending Shore Stop 231 - Rising Sun Nitrate 11/02/07 Pending Smith Landing Nitrate 07/19/07 Pending St. Andrews School System II Bacti 02/29/08 Pending Sussex Pines Country Club Nitrate 02/26/08 Pending Tool Box Grill Nitrate 02/08/08 Pending Woodside Goose Creek Bacti 11/06/07 01/30/08 Woodland Manor Bacti 02/26/08 Pending Woodland Trailer Park Bacti 09/21/07 01/29/08 Office of Drinking Water Blue Hen Corporate Center 655 Bay Road, Suite 203 Dover, DE 19901