San Jose Water District To Vote On Fluoridation
SAN JOSE (KCBS) – The largest water district in Silicon Valley is set to vote Tuesday on whether to support fluoridation of its drinking water.
In San Jose, dental health among children is far below that of other regions. According to the Santa Clara Valley Health Department, 48 percent of children between the ages of two and four have had cavities, while that number is only 18 percent for kids of the same ages in the U.S.
Part of the solution, according to health officials is to start a putting fluoride in the drinking water.
KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:
"I don't have any problem fluoridating the water," said Don Gage, Chairman of the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
However, he adds that they will have to rely on the Santa Clara Valley Health Trust, which has been lobbying for fluoridation, in order to pay the up front equipment costs, which run somewhere between $5 million and $10 million.
"The Health Trust, could probably, through its public private partnership, come up with the installation of $10 million, but at issue would be the ongoing costs," said Gage.
Gage said that would likely add up to a dollar per family, per year. The water district plans to vote Tuesday on whether to use fluoridation, even though they haven't yet figured out how to pay for it.
Related Links:
California Dept. of Public Health - Fluoridation by Public Water Systems
NoFlouride.com - Citizens For Safe Drinking Water
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