Homeless in Arizona

In the article the Town of Gilbert voted to add fluoride to it's drinking water and it seems like some government bureaucrat decided to nullify that vote on his own.

The question isn't is fluoride good or bad. The question is should the government rulers of Gilbert obey the same laws they force their citizens to obey?

Of course this article is a good example of why we should let the private sector provide services like water.

If you want fluoridated water you should be able to go to a private company that will sell you.

If you think fluoride is a tool of the devil and don't want it you should be able to go to a private company that will sell you water with out fluoride in it.

Source

Gilbert discovers fluoride withheld from water, puts 2 officials on leave

by Parker Leavitt - Aug. 23, 2012 09:58 PM

The Republic | azcentral.com

Gilbert has put two top administrators on leave and launched an internal investigation after officials discovered fluoride has been withheld from part of the town's water supply for at least 13 months.

Town voters approved fluoridation 12 years ago after a heated debate on the controversial issue, and the task of adding the cavity-fighting chemical fell to Public Works Director Lonnie Frost, whose wife, Shelley, had led the opposition against fluoride.

Frost, along with Water Manager Chris Ochs, are now on paid leave while the town investigates how and why fluoride was not being added at Gilbert's North Water Treatment Plant.

Town Manager Patrick Banger could not immediately say whether it was done intentionally or by mistake.

"We just want to make it clear that we're taking it very seriously, but it's not a matter of a public-health hazard in that the water was being overfluoridated," Banger said. "We weren't meeting the minimum levels."

The town has ordered an independent verification of its water system and will look to get the fluoridation system online as soon as possible, said Dana Berchman, Gilbert's communications director.

"This is unacceptable, and we are taking immediate steps to remedy the situation," Berchman said.

The town's municipal code requires the public-works director to ensure compliance with all laws, regulations and ordinances related to drinking-water quality. Frost, who has been public-works director for 14 years, declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

Deputy Town Manager Marc Skocypec first became aware of a possible problem on Aug. 14, Berchman said. The town conducts regular water testing at the plant and files an annual water-quality report.

Reports from 2009 and 2010 indicate the fluoride in Gilbert's water varied between 0.42 and 1.1 parts per million, well below the maximum allowable level of 4 ppm. The 2011 report, however, indicates fluoride levels had dropped, ranging from "not detected" to 0.92 ppm.

Gilbert dentist William Fulcher said a concentration of 1 ppm has "astronomical benefits for dental health." He said he would be concerned if fluoride was being withheld from some residents' tap water.

"There's a lot of anti-fluoridation groups out there," Fulcher said. "For us as dentists, if you do it, that's great ... and if you don't, oh well, you'll just have more cavities and we'll do more dental treatment."

Fluoride is still being added to water at the Santan Vista Water Treatment Plant in south Gilbert, which is operated through a joint partnership with Chandler, officials said.

Flouoride apparently had been withheld from the North Water plant beginning around the time three new Town Council members were elected and sworn in. At least two have direct ties to the conservative "tea party" movement.

Tea-party activists have been vocal opponents of municipal-water fluoridation, and other conservative organizations such as the John Birch Society have opposed it for decades.

Critics dispute some benefits attributed to fluoride and worry about potential side effects, such as muscle pain, discolored teeth or bone damage.

Meanwhile, Councilman Eddie Cook, elected to his first term last spring, has requested that the Town Council discuss eliminating water fluoridation during its annual retreat this weekend. That agenda item is unrelated to the investigation at the North Water Treatment Plant, Banger said.

Despite the claims from fluoride critics, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has proclaimed it one of the 10 greatest public-health achievements of the 20th century, and every U.S. surgeon general since the 1950s has endorsed the practice.

The Town Council first approved fluoridation in 2000, but a resident referendum forced the issue onto a November ballot. About 54 percent of voters approved the measure, and fluoridation commenced in 2001.

The disclosure of the Gilbert officials' actions marks the second time in a matter of days that water supplies to southeast Valley communities are in the news. Earlier this week, in an unrelated case, some San Tan Valley area residents learned that there were high levels of the E. coli bacteria in tap water supplied by Johnson Utilities.