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San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission System-wide Fluoridation and
Public Outreach/Notification Background Review
The following is a review of steps that were taken over the past several years
to implement system-wide fluoridation, along with related public education
and outreach efforts. The information may be useful for briefing governing
boards, and as a referral for background on the Sunol Valley Fluoridation Facility
Project, the feasibility study, and public hearings that were conducted on
the project.
The Sunol Valley Fluoridation Facility, which will be brought on-line in September
2005, will replace the aging Polhemus Fluoride Facility in San Mateo. On November
1, 2005, 27 of the 28 wholesale water utilities will begin receiving fluoridated
water – all except Coastside County Water District.
Currently approximately 80 percent of the population of the SFPUC service
area receives fluoridated water, either directly from the SFPUC or from the
utilities that self-fluoridate, including Alameda County Water District, City
of Hayward, City of Mountain View, City of Palo Alto and Stanford University.
Approximately 20 percent of the population of the SFPUC service area, or about
400,000 people, will begin receiving fluoridated water for the first time as
of November 1, 2005l.
History
San Francisco residents voted to add fluoride to their drinking water in
the early 1950s to promote dental health. A few years later the City built
its first facility for fluoride addition. The current fluoride facilities,
at Polhemus and at the Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant in San Bruno, provide
fluoridated water to San Francisco and communities on the Peninsula north of
Redwood City and Belmont.
Regulatory Requirements and Aging Facilities
California ’s fluoridated drinking water act, Assembly Bill 733, passed
in 1995 and strengthened with passage of Senate Bill 96, imposed more stringent
criteria for utilities already fluoridating and required unfluoridated systems
with 10,000 or more service connections to start fluoridating as funding became
available.
These stricter regulatory requirements, in combination with the deteriorating
condition of the SFPUC’s main fluoridation station at Polhemus, pointed
to the need for extensive improvements to the fluoridation facilities.
The SFPUC’s main fluoridation station, built 30 years ago, was approaching
the end of its useful life and needed to be replaced to ensure compliance with
water quality, environmental and safety regulations.
The original fluoridation system at the Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant
was replaced with a new fluoridation facility in 1998.
Fluoridation Feasibility Study
The SFPUC Fluoridation Feasibility Study, which was completed in 2000, evaluated
two project alternatives for the replacement of the Polhemus facility. Conducted
by the SFPUC Water Quality Bureau (WQB), the study included an engineering/technical
evaluation of the two alternatives, the West Bay Alternative and the East Bay
Alternative, along with a comprehensive Fluoridation Outreach Program to provide
information on the project and solicit public comment.
- West Bay Alternative , considered and rejected, would
have replaced the SFPUC’s main fluoride station in San Mateo County
with a new station, continuing to provide fluoridated water only to those
water utilities that receive it now.
- East Bay Alternative , the selected alternative, planned
for construction of a new fluoride station in the East Bay at the San Antonio
Valley Pump Station, resulting in system-wide fluoridation to all the water
utilities in the SFPUC service area.
A fact sheet on the Feasibility Study was distributed at a number of public
meetings to provide information on the two alternatives. (Portions of the Feasibility
Study and fact sheet are available online at www.sfwater.org/fluoride.
The entire document is available for review on request.)
The Fluoridation 2000 Work Group, a coalition of health organizations, approved
a grant of $250,000 to offset the capital costs of implementing system-wide
fluoridation.
Public Meetings and Outreach
The SFPUC held two formal public hearings in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties
during November 2000 to provide an overview of the feasibility study, address
public concerns and hear comments on the alternatives under consideration.
Additionally, SFPUC staff met with interest groups and stakeholders to gather
their input for consideration on selection of an alternative. They also conducted
a series of workshops to discuss the evaluation process with Bay Area Water
Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) members and public health agency representatives.
Media notices included press releases, newspaper display ads and interviews.
SFPUC Public Hearing
SFPUC staff recommended implementation of the East Bay Alternative due to
operational advantages and lower costs. A public hearing was held in San Francisco
before the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to consider the staff
recommendation on February 13, 2001 and continued to February 16 th in order
for the Commissioners to hear all testimony. Public comments both for and against
fluoridation were taken, and written comments submitted were placed in the
record.
At the February 16, 2001 hearing, the Commission unanimously voted to endorse
the East Bay Alternative to provide system-wide fluoridation, and directed
the General Manager to begin the environmental review process and undertake
necessary engineering studies and design.
A number of health officials spoke in support of system-wide fluoridation
at the public hearing, commenting that there was solid scientific evidence
of the effectiveness and safety of water fluoridation for all ages and socio-economic
groups. They included the health officers of San Mateo, Alameda, Santa Clara
and San Francisco counties.
Environmental Review
The project was found to be exempt from environmental review under California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) section 21080.26, which provides for exemption
for “minor alternations to utilities” necessary to comply with
Title 22 California Code of Regulations (CCR) Section 64433 (California Fluoridation
Regulation) and Health and Safety Code 11610.
Sunol Valley site environmental review was included as part of the Environmental
Impact Report on the Chloramine Conversion Project certified in December 2002.
Design and Construction
The Commission approved project design of the Sunol Valley Fluoridation Facility
(SVFF) in January 2002. Design of the SVFF was coordinated with design of the
Sunol Valley Chloramination Facility, as the two facilities are adjacent to
each other at the same site and provide water treatment at the Alameda Siphons.
Consideration of a regulatory compliance deadline under the Disinfectants
and Disinfection Byproducts Rule, as well as operational challenges of implementing
two new treatment facilities at the same time, prompted a decision to move
forward with the Chloramine Conversion Project before beginning construction
of the Sunol Valley Fluoridation Facility.
The chloramine project was implemented in February 2004. Construction of the
Sunol Valley Fluoridation Facility was initiated in fall 2004 with completion
expected this summer. Implementation of system-wide fluoridation will be on
November 1, 2005.
All information on this page adapted from materials provided
by the San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission, the provider of all of Redwood City's water.
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