Fluoridation of Calgary's water supply delayed again

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 20, 2025 2:14 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

After voting successful favour of resuming h2o fluoridation successful 2021, Calgarians are inactive waiting for that to happen, and present the metropolis says they volition person to hold a small longer.

While it has finished installing the indispensable instrumentality to resume adding fluoride to drinking water at some the Glenmore and Bearspaw treatment plants, the metropolis needs much clip to implicit the shift, according to an update released Thursday.

"After undertaking the archetypal commissioning steps, we determined it volition necessitate further clip to let america to guarantee each instrumentality and systems are checked, inspected and tested to guarantee they are each performing arsenic designed," the city's connection reads.

The resumption of fluoridation is present expected to hap aboriginal successful the 2nd 4th of this year.

Once a day is confirmed, the metropolis says it volition supply an update 4 weeks successful advance.

The city's program to resume fluoridation of its h2o proviso dates backmost to a plebiscite successful the 2021 municipal predetermination followed by a assembly vote in November 2021.

While the strategy was initially anticipated to beryllium successful work by September 2024, the metropolis said it was delayed until this twelvemonth owed to assets challenges and uncertainty with the planetary proviso chain.

Calgarians archetypal voted successful favour of fluoridation successful 1990, pursuing respective failed votes betwixt 1957 and 1971.

In 2011, the metropolis stopped adding fluoride to its water.

Infrastructure upgrades were needed astatine Calgary's 2 h2o attraction plants to bring fluoridation back, aft the city's erstwhile infrastructure for this intent reached the extremity of its lifecycle. It was decommissioned and removed pursuing council's determination to halt fluoridation in 2011.

Cities that adhd fluoride to their h2o typically purpose for a level of 0.7 milligrams per litre successful bid to amended dental wellness among the populations they serve.

Regular investigating of Calgary's treated h2o successful 2014 found people occurring fluoride levels of betwixt 0.08 and 0.26 milligrams per litre.

The naturally occurring fluoride originates from erosion of rock and ungraded successful the watersheds that supply the city. Natural fluoride levels thin to beryllium somewhat higher successful h2o from the Elbow River arsenic compared to the Bow River, and usually the concentrations are highest successful the winter.

Naturally occurring levels arsenic precocious arsenic 0.4 milligrams per litre person been observed successful metropolis tests since fluoridation was stopped successful 2011.