An earlier decision by the Evergreen Metro District to remove added fluoridation from Evergreen’s water is undergoing further study.
Board members raised new questions on the idea that came after an Evergreen woman brought concerns about both the decision and the way it was broadcast to residents during their May 28 meeting.
“Fluoride is one of the 10 public health improvements of the 20th century,” said Beth Kapner, a retired Evergreen school teacher. “To take it out, given its scientific basis in reducing cavities and without any public discussion, is just mind boggling to me.
“My concern is also the complete lack of advanced warning this was even being discussed.”
EMD general manager Jason Stawski said the chemical hasn’t yet been removed from Evergreen’s water, though the board did vote to do so in 2024 — a decision based on both cost savings and staff safety. After hearing from Kapner and seeing her findings, the board is now seeking more information.
“I think there’s a chance that we won’t move forward,” Stawski said. “We’re still conducting research about it.”
“As of today, the District is still actively dosing fluoride and expects to deplete our remaining supply sometime this summer,” he said.
The metro district is updating its water treatment plant and Stawski said fire suppression and HVAC upgrades required to continue housing the chemical will add another $500,000 to the cost of the upgrade. Sodium fluorosilicate, the chemical used to add fluoride to the water, is also toxic.
“It’s one of the nastier chemicals we have to physically handle, and it poses a bit of a safety risk for staff,” Stawski said.
More than 72% of the U.S. population is served by a community water system with fluoridated water, according to America’s Health Rankings.
Fluoride supplementation recently became a hot topic after comments from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Utah’s governor recently signed a bill banning fluoride in public water systems, and Kennedy says fluoride is linked to health problems.
Dental experts nationally and locally largely disagree, and Kapner submitted a letter to that effect to the Evergreen Metro board signed by 10 Evergreen dentists.
“Even when common, fluoride-containing healthcare products, such as toothpastes and mouthrinses are used, fluoridated water reduces cavities another 25% among children and adults,” the letter reads. “Water facilities and water operators perform a valuable public service by optimally adjusting the level of fluoride in water to improve the oral health of their communities.”
Stawski said Evergreen Lake — the source of the community’s drinking water — naturally contains 0.3 milligrams per Liter (mg/L) of fluoride. HHS recommends 0.7 mg/L, a level it says is optimal for preventing tooth decay and promoting good oral health.
“We want to emphasize that even after fluoride supplementation ends, Evergreen’s drinking water will continue to contain naturally occurring fluoride,” Stawski said. “While this is below the US Public Health Service’s recommended level, it does provide some protection against dental cavities, especially when paired with other sources of fluoride such as toothpaste, rinses, or prescribed supplements.”
But Kapner says the lake’s natural level isn’t enough, and argues adding the supplemental fluoride to Evergreen’s water is the best way to get the recommended level.
“Fluoride is the most equitable and cost-effective way of reducing tooth decay,” she said. “Yes, there are affluent people in Evergreen who can get the fluoride rinses and treatments. But we have people in our community that should not be forgotten about that do not have access to the dental care some of us are fortunate enough to have.”
Notification concerns
Kapner is also upset that the Evergreen community didn’t know about the issue before a decision was made. She’s circulated a petition to that effect, and so far has 37 signatures.
“This is a decision that impacts our overall community, and users should have been informed in advance,” she said. “There should have been time for comment. And we should be aware of changes that impact our health.”
Stawski said no secrecy or deception was intended.
“(The 2024) decision came after thorough deliberation and careful consideration of both health impacts and infrastructure needs,” he said. “Additionally, we reached out to public health agencies and the Colorado Dental Association to gather local data. Unfortunately, public health agencies didn’t have any data for us and the Colorado Dental Association never responded to our request for data and cancelled attending our board meeting.”
But he agrees EMD could have done a better job in informing its users.
“I feel Beth has a fair point regarding the communication,” he said. “The decision was made at one of the 2024 board meetings. We drafted a memo that was posted on our website in October. Recognizing that not a lot of people visit our website, we decided to send that same memo out to all customers via email and US Postal Service.”
Kapner said she received it April 18.
“I was made aware of this eight months after the board decision,” she said.
Stawski said that because the memo was dated October 2024, “It led to a little bit of confusion after the statement went out.”
Seven people, including Kapner, responded, he said. Some were confused about the memo’s October date, others upset about the decision itself.
“We weren’t trying to make this a non-issue (or) we wouldn’t have posted it on the website and sent it out,” he said. “The timing — I agree we could have done better with that. The intent was to let folks know; how we did that could have been improved.”
Design changes needed
The decision isn’t final yet, Stawski said, but must be made soon. The district is nearly 90% done with the design phase for its $4.5 million water treatment plant upgrade and construction is slated to begin in early 2026.
An updated design would need fire suppression and HVAC changes to accommodate having sodium fluorosilicate on site.
“It’s not an easy black-and-white decision,” he said, noting that not everyone supports adding the supplemental fluoride. “When we started adding fluoride, there was pushback from customers about not wanting additional chemicals in the water.”
EMD currently owns and oversees a wastewater treatment plant, three wastewater pump stations, a water treatment plant, eight water pump stations and 10 reservoirs. It also maintains a 300-mile wastewater collection piping system and another 300 miles of water distribution piping.
Original article online at: https://coloradocommunitymedia.com/2025/06/03/evergreen-metro-reconsiders-removing-fluoride/