Fluoridation of Drinking Water

California Assembly Bill No. 733, passed by the Senate September 14, 1995, and the Assembly September 15, 1995, required the State Department of Health Services to adopt regulations that require the fluoridation of the water of any public water system that has at least 10,000 service connections according to a prescribed schedule based upon the number of service connections. While the law became effective January 1, 1996, there were a number of steps to be taken and conditions to be met before any water system would be required to begin adding fluoride. One such condition is that monies must be made available to a utility to implement fluoridation.

In February 2003, Metropolitan Water District’s (MWD) board of directors joined a majority of the nation’s public water suppliers in adopting a policy to add fluoride to treated drinking water supplies in order to prevent tooth decay. Implementing fluoride into the Metropolitan Water District’s system will take place July 1, 2007 at all 5 of their treatment plants.

While Park Water Company fully supports the legislation, to date monies have not been provided to Park Water Company to add fluoride to our groundwater supplies. However, since a large portion of the water we supply comes from MWD, there will be levels of fluoride in the water we send to your home. But, when and by how much our groundwater source is blended with our MWD source, that level of fluoride will be diminished. What we do not know is exactly when and by how much our ground water supplies will be blended with the MWD water. We are currently studying this situation as well as the logistics of adding fluoride to the ground water supplies in all three of our separate systems. Our annual Consumer Confidence Report mailed each spring will provide more details on this important issue.

With regard to the safety of fluoride in drinking water, please compare and contrast your source of information to the information provided through the links below.