Calgary set to add fluoride to drinking water by end of next month

Calgary is set to reintroduce fluoride to its drinking water by the end of June.

In a Thursday release, the city says it will start adding fluoride on June 30 after council decided to reintroduce the mineral to the drinking water system following a 2021 plebiscite during that year’s municipal election.

A majority of voters, 62 per cent, were in favour of reintroducing fluoride to drinking water.

“For healthy teeth, natural occurring fluoride levels in the Bow and Elbow Rivers will be supplemented to help protect against tooth decay,” reads the city’s release. “The treatment plants will increase fluoride to the optimal level of 0.7 milligram per litre as recommended by Health Canada’s Guidance for Community Water Fluoridation.”

The project has been delayed at least three times. It was first set to be introduced in 2023, but faced roadblocks in the cost of upgrading Calgary’s two water treatment plants.

The city has said the reintroduction of fluoride required a retrofit of an existing building at the Glenmore Water Treatment Plan, and installing the new fluoride equipment, and the construction of a new building at the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant to house the fluoride equipment.

The existing infrastructure had reached the end of its lifecycle by 2011 and was removed following the council decision to stop fluoridation.

The infrastructure costs were just over $28 million with ongoing annual costs of $1 million for operation and maintenance at the plants. The funding comes from council-approved water rates and not from property taxes, according to the city.

Calgary is joining Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer as other Alberta municipalities that have added fluoride to their water systems.

Fluoridating the municipal water supply has been endorsed by over 90 professional health organizations including Health Canada, the Canadian Public Health Association, the Canadian Dental Association, the Canadian Medical Association, and the World Health Organization.

For more information about fluoride in Calgary’s drinking water visit the city’s website.

Calgary’s fluoridation history

According to the City of Calgary, Calgarians voted against adding fluoride to its drinking water four times in 1957, 1961, 1966, and 1971.

In 1989, citizens voted to add fluoride to the city’s water supply. By 1991 infrastructure was in place and water was being fluoridated at a rate of 1.0 milligrams per litre.

Years later in 1998, experts recommended reducing the levels of fluoride in the water to 0.7 milligrams per litre. The change was made in 1999 after another city-wide vote where Calgarians voted to keep the mineral in the water.

In 2011 city council voted to stop water fluoridation. After the 2021 plebiscite, Calgary voted to bring it back.

With files from Lauryn Heintz