While its leaders had earlier this year said they may reconsider their decision, the Evergreen Metro District ran out of fluoride on May 31 and will not continue adding it to the area’s water.
Their choice disappoints local dentists, the Colorado Dental Association and at least one area resident.
“I’m a pro-fluoride dentist,” said Dr. Troy Fox of Evergreen Family Dentistry, one of 10 local dentists who signed a letter objecting to the decision. “It’s unfortunate that the Evergreen Metro District chose this route.
“Fluoride has a documented health advantage going back decades,” he said, adding it’s especially critical for young, developing teeth. “Getting rid of something like that may have ramifications down the road several years on dental health. It’ll be a negative ramification.”
The EMD board voted not to purchase additional sodium fluorosilicate — the toxic chemical used to fluoridate water — in August 2024, a decision based on cost savings and staff safety, said general manager Jason Stawski.
“The chemical used for fluoride addition is … one of the most dangerous chemicals handled by operators at the water treatment plant,” a board memo to residents read. “Also, the district is planning a major plant remodel of the chemical building where the fluoride is housed. Designing the building for use of fluoride increases the occupancy rating hazard, which requires more engineered controls. Eliminating fluoridation from future design plans saves on engineering and operational costs while enabling a safer environment for the operators.”
Additionally, he said, Evergreen Lake is already a source of natural fluoride, though at lower levels than the 0.7 milligrams per liter recommended by the CDA. Water from the lake naturally contains 0.3 milligrams per liter of fluoride, according to EMD.
“There just isn’t a lot of research done about this range in which our natural levels fluctuate,” Stawski said. “My understanding of where our system is at, with natural levels of about .3 milligrams per liter, is that we’d still be on the list of water systems that have fluoridated water.”
More than 72% of the U.S. population is served by a community water system with fluoridated water, according to America’s Health Rankings.
Enough information to decide
In late May, Stawski said resident Beth Kapner’s research pointing to reasons for the chemical’s use and information from other agencies was compelling.
“I think there’s a chance that we won’t move forward,” he said then. “We’re still conducting research about it.”
But that’s not currently the case.
“More recently, I think the board had said ‘We’ve got enough research. We’ve talked about it enough that we’re comfortable with the decision and where we’re at,” Stawski said.
For Kapner, it’s not just about stopping added fluoride, but the process the metro district followed in making the decision. She spoke to the EMD board at its June meeting, only to later learn it had stopped adding fluoride when it ran out of it on May 31.
Stawski said he also didn’t know exactly when fluoridation ended until he saw a June report.
Kapner feels strongly EMD customers should have had a say in what she sees as a public health issue.
“We have thousands of individuals in the Evergreen Metro District and there should be public discussion about this,” Kapner said. “Recently, they had a public hearing on the inclusion of two properties into the district. So they can have a public meeting on that, but they cannot have a public meeting to have any discussion on the removal of fluoridation.
“I understand different opinions. I just cannot wrap my head around the lack of public discussion and lack of transparency.”
Fox said he’d hoped to speak at an EMD meeting about the issue but was unable to attend. He said he first heard about the change “through the grapevine” from patients, and later from the CDA, instead of the district directly.
“There wasn’t a robust effort to let anybody know they were going to discontinue it,” he said.
Hyperlocal data
Stawski said the board’s meetings are public and it is always open to public comment. However, it follows statutory requirements regarding public hearings, which generally apply to subjects like inclusions, changes to rates and budgets. A hearing was not required for the fluoridation decision.
The district notified its residents of the pending change in an October 2024 memo. Stawski said EMD also reached out to “the state, the CDE, and Jefferson County to try to get additional research.”
The CDA’s government relations director Lauren Harvey said research shows the positive impact of fluoridated water, but it isn’t typically focused on specific geographic areas.
“The board told me they were only interested in very hyperlocal data about Evergreen, which we don’t have,” she said. “We’re disconcerted based on all the research and studies and evidence that show the really positive impacts this has for anyone of any age — but especially children — to minimize the prevalence of cavities, and further tooth decay.”
Fox said he has always urged his patients on well water to test their systems for fluoride, to ensure they’re getting enough or take other measures if it contains overly high levels of the mineral. Now he’ll consult his metro district patients similarly.
He acknowledged the natural fluoride that feeds into the system from Evergreen Lake.
“It’s better than nothing,” Fox said. “But science and research has shown that .7 parts per million is the ideal sweet spot.”
Stawski said the decision is not necessarily permanent.
“It’s never final,” he said. “We can always make a change. While the current plan for the water plant does not include adding (fluoride), there are modifications that can be made for the same dollar amount that would allow us to add it again in the future. It would just require HVAC improvements for how we store chemicals.
“Any board can come back later and say we want to go back to supplementing fluoride.”
The district’s $4.5 million water treatment plant upgrade and construction is slated to begin in early 2026.
In Buffalo, NY, the city stopped adding fluoride to its water in 2015. It resumed the practice in September 2024 after parents filed a class-action lawsuit against the water board, seeking damages for dental surgeries their children needed to undergo.
Original article online at: https://www.canyoncourier.com/news/evergreen-metro-water-has-been-fluoride-free-since-june/article_bdb9604e-dd4d-433a-a430-6808a4695e56.html