Resuming fluoridation in Calgary’s water supply is going to be a longer, costlier process than expected. ."The early estimate that was shared with council back in 2020 was a high level conceptual estimate with limited information known at the time," City of Calgary Utilities Delivery Manager Tanner Fellinger told CBC News Calgary on Thursday. ."When we actually went through the detailed design aspects of it, we were able to fully realize the scope of work that was required for the project.".Calgarians revisited the issue of whether or not to add fluoridation to the city’s water in 2021, with 62% of Calgarians voting yes and 38% voting no..READ MORE: Calgarians vote yes on equalization, Tories to Senate.Calgary pulled fluoride from the water supply in 2011. A study found decay in children’s teeth had risen by 65% a few years later. .It received a report in 2020 pegging the cost to add fluoride at $30.1 million over 20 years..The plan was set in motion after a council vote and decision to reimplement fluoridation in water in 2021 and was expected to be complete by June 2024..Now it has been delayed by three months with an expected end date of September 2024. The costs affiliated with the project have almost tripled from an initial estimate of $10.1 million to $28.1 million..Fellinger said this cost increase includes additional building which was unaccounted for. .Existing infrastructure cannot be used because it reached the end of its life cycle in 2011 and was decommissioned and removed following council's decision to stop fluoridation..Calgarians for Kids Health President Juliet Guichon said the delay and fluoride being removed has been a problem for Calgary. ."We were dismayed to know that it was going to be June 2024 and then very sad to learn that it was going to be further delayed to September 2024," said Guichon. ."The lack of fluoridation is an urgent problem that is appearing in the hospitals throughout Calgary in the form of infection and in the form of the need for anesthesia for young children to have treatment of dental decay." .Fluoride can be found in the Bow and Elbow rivers, in concentrations varying throughout the year, between 0.1 and 0.4 mg/L..The City of Calgary and Alberta Health Services reviewed water fluoridation as a public policy in 1998. A panel of five experts recommended fluoride be put in at a level of 0.7 mg/L. .This change was adopted in 1999 following a referendum where 55% of Calgarians voted in favour of fluoridation. .Updated costs of adding fluoride to the water include $864,000 for annual operating costs and between $100,000 and $200,000 for annual maintenance. .Guichon said adding fluoride is inexpensive, and the savings are about $55 per Calgarian per year..She added these savings “come in avoided dental costs and avoided medical treatment costs when people have to go to emergency because they have an infection or when parents have to take a very young child for dental care under anesthesia.” .Calgary Coun. Andre Chabot, who voted against the motion to reintroduce fluoride to the water, said one of the reasons he did so was because he thought the costs presented in the reintroduction plan were underestimated. ."As it turns out, I was right," said Chabot. .He suggested the project be delayed further so his fellow councillors could review the latest studies and make a more informed decision down the line.
