Date of fluoride reintroduction in Calgary's water supply pushed back again

Calgary's water supply will be without fluoridation for almost another year after a delay in theconstruction project needed to reintroduce the mineral.

Infrastructure upgrades, initially anticipated to be finished byJune of this year, are required at both the Glenmore and Bearspaw water treatment plants, the City of Calgary said.

The plan toreintroduce fluoride to the city's water supply was initially set in motion after a council vote and decision in November 2021.

While construction workis underway, the city saidresource challenges, as well as ongoing uncertainty with the global supply chain, have led to the construction completion date being pushed back again.

A statement from the city on Thursday said the system was initially anticipated to be in service by September 2024.

"This date was set with an understanding that timelines may change," the statement said.

Following anearlier delay in July 2023, the city provided a price-tag update forthe project that showed costs had nearly tripled from an initial estimate of $10.1 million to $28.1 million.

The city did not say if there are additional costs associated with the most recent delay.

Delays are concerning says medical expert

Calgary began fluoridatingthe city's water supply in 1991. This continued until 2011, when city council voted to discontinuethe addition of fluoride.

In 2021, council voted to reintroduce fluoridation, but the change isn't happening quickly enough, one medical expert says.

"Every delay means more young children lose the protection that fluoridation gives to their teeth," said Dr. James Dickinson withCalgarians for Kids' Health, a group of 21 physicians advocating for the mineral in Calgary's water supply.

According to the city, existing infrastructure cannot be used because it reached the end of its life cycle in 2011. It was decommissioned and removed following council's decision to stop fluoridation.

While Dickinson says modernizing infrastructure is a necessity, he worries that the length of the delays could have long-term negative effects on children.

"The children who get bad problems end up with rotten teeth, and they have to have extractions, andthat's one of the commonest causes of children having anesthetics is to have tooth extractions," he said.

"Itstarts with a minor degree of trouble in a child, but it ends up being a mouthful of problems for an older adult."