Healdsburg Residents Concerned With Fluoridated Water Seek Ballot Measure

HEALDSBURG (KCBS)— Healdsburg is the only city in Sonoma County that has fluoride in its water, but a growing chorus of people there are saying that the city should get rid of it.

Most dentists will tell you that fluoride helps prevent cavities, especially in children. A group of Healdsburg residents are hoping to change the decades-old practice of adding the chemical to the local water supply with a ballot measure.

Fluoride-free Healdsburg, a grassroots group of residents, has over 800 signatures to qualify a measure on the November ballot to eliminate fluoridation.

One woman said she didn't want fluoride and that she and her kids get enough of it in their toothpaste. Others want more facts about how adding the chemical to drinking water will affect them.

Health agencies throughout the world have endorsed water fluoridation as safe and effective in preventing tooth decay. However, critics have been able to capitalize on the debate over the ethics of mass intervention - along with general distrust of government agencies - and present formidable arguments against the practice.

The Sonoma County Water Agency, which delivers to much of Sonoma and Marin County is considering adding fluoride to its water supply.

The San Francisco's Hetch Hetchy water system , the East Bay Municipal Utilities District, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District all provide flouridated water.

An annual list of flouridated water systems in California is available from the state's Department of Public Health.