Fluoride still not flowing in Calgary’s water – Calgary

Whether or not Calgary has fluoride in its water appears to be a fluid situation.

Last year, the council voted in favor of adding fluoride after a plebiscite question in the municipal election. However, if you think you drank it over the past 12 months, you are mistaken.

At the time of the vote, city officials told councilors it would take between 18 and 24 months to complete the work to add the mineral back to Calgarians’ water. But that timeline may now be extended.

City officials said work is now on track to have fluoridated water flowing from taps between April and June 2024.

For those on the pro-fluoride side of the debate that was settled last year, the extended timeline is an issue.

“I sincerely hope that the city council will consider this a priority matter and speed up the process,” says dr. Juliet Guichon with the group “Calgarians for Kids’ Health.”

Guichon said dentists are seeing an increase in children suffering from tooth decay and that is spilling over into other areas of the health care system.

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“They are now very young when they have full mouth decay and therefore they have to be treated under general anaesthetic,” she said. “And there aren’t enough appointment times, so some of these kids show up in the emergency room because they have a serious infection.

“So there is a lot of pressure on the already overcrowded Alberta Children’s Hospital.”

The city said supply chain issues are responsible for any delays.

In a statement to Global News on Wednesday, they added that the new timeline allows for work to be done at both of Calgary’s water treatment plants, which includes developing and approving the project design plan, ordering and installing new infrastructure, and ensuring from a reliable source for fluoride.

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