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NEWS RELEASE

July 16, 2009

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Ulman Warns Residents of Third Party Testing County Public Drinking Water

ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Ken Ulman is alerting county residents of unnecessary drinking water testing being offered by private water treatment companies. Such companies often go door-to-door, first offering free testing and then falsely claiming that the test results indicate that the water is unsafe or otherwise needs to be treated or “purified.” The company will then attempt to sell the homeowner water purification or treatment equipment or services that are not, in fact, necessary.

Howard County’s drinking water supply is thoroughly tested by its two water suppliers, the City of Baltimore and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, and continues to meet all federal and state requirements for drinking water. County water quality test results are listed on the County web site at: http://www.howardcountymd.gov/DPW/DOCS/2008waterquality.pdf.

Point-of-use equipment may enhance the aesthetic quality of any public drinking water source depending on the tastes of the customer. “Residents, however, should be wary of water treatment companies that question the safety of Howard County’s public drinking water, especially when those companies are going door-to-door anonymously,” said Ulman.

The County recently learned that written “notices” were being hung on County residents’ front doors stating that “for the next 2 weeks, we will be testing the water of the residents of your county.” The materials instructed residents to leave a sample of their tap water and a completed questionnaire on their doorknobs to be picked up within 24 hours. While the materials contained a fine print disclosure that the testing would be done by “an independent organization not affiliated with any Government Agencies,” they did NOT identify the name of the company offering the testing.

According to Rebecca Bowman, Office of Consumer Affairs Administrator, “Individuals who engage in door-to-door sales in Howard County must first obtain a solicitor’s or peddler’s license from the Office of Consumer Affairs. Residents should therefore refrain from dealing with people going door-to-door who do not have a peddler or solicitor ID.”

Also, door-to-door sellers must limit their activities to the hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and are required to show their solicitor or peddler identification card upon request.

More information regarding peddler and solicitor regulations can be found on the County’s website at http://consumer.howardcountymd.gov.