Two Gilbert employees have been placed on leave while the town investigates why the North Water Treatment Plant failed for the past 13 months to put fluoride in the water.
Town spokeswoman Dana Berchman said the water is safe to drink, but that the failure to fluoridate the water is unacceptable.
Berchman said Gilbert tests its water daily to conform to the Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure a safe drinking supply.
She said the lack of fluoridation “is unacceptable and we are taking immediate steps to remedy the situation. An independent verification of all aspects of our system is being conducted and we are evaluating what it will take to get the system online as soon as possible. A complete review of the matter and additional information will be forthcoming.”
During the investigation, Lonnie Frost, Public Works Director, and Chris Ochs, Water Manager, have been placed on leave. Effective immediately, Mark Horn, town wastewater manager, is the acting Public Works Director.
Frost has been employed by the town since October 1984, while Ochs began employment with Gilbert in February 2010.
In 2000, 54 percent of residents voted to add fluoride to drinking water, according to a Tribune article from 2003.
Gilbert began fluoridating the water in March 2002, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
“Water fluoridation has been accepted as a safe, effective, and inexpensive method of preventing tooth decay,” according to the CDC’s website. “Adding fluoride to municipal drinking water is an efficient strategy to reduce dental disease among Americans of all social strata. It is the most cost-effective way to prevent tooth decay among populations living in areas with adequate community water supply systems.”
Water fluoridation has a contentious history in Gilbert. Even after the town’s 2000 referendum, it has occasionally resurfaced at town council meetings.
A Tribune article from 2003 said that Shelley Frost, who led the fight against adding fluoride to Gilbert’s drinking water, said that the council could find a way to end the treatment.
“I believe the council is simply hiding behind the referendum,” Shelley Frost told the Tribune in 2003 at a council meeting. “It’s a political move.”
The North Water Treatment Plant treats water only in the northern half of Gilbert, while the unaffected Santan Vista Treatment Plant serves the southern part of the town, according to the town’s website.
“It’s difficult to say exactly how many residents are served by the North Water Treatment Plant since residents in the area are also served by wells,” Berchman said. “Since our system utilizes water from the Santan Vista Water Plant and the North Water Treatment Plant and the wells, it’s hard to get an exact number.”
Berchman said that the problem with fluoridation at the Gilbert water treatment plan is completely unrelated to the E.coli contamination in San Tan Valley that has been in the news this week.
Contact writer: (480) 898-5645 or sspring@evtrib.com
Engaged Voter posted at 3:43 pm on Wed, Aug 29, 2012.
Stephen - this is what happens when people vote for someone, not because of their accredited qualifications, but because they share the same superstitious beliefs.
Stephen - The healthy water man posted at 12:52 pm on Fri, Aug 24, 2012.
It amazes me how many people that are in charge of our water supplies, have almost no knowledge of the effects contaminants can have on the human body. Some get there degrees to get a job and never keep up with new findings. New studies published in the journal Nuclear Medicine Communications January 2012 show the correlation between fluoride uptake and calcification of arterial walls, showing the ability to take up fluoride. There was also significant correlation between a history of cardiovascular events ( hart attacks ) and a presence of fluoride uptake in coronary arteries. Plus there are studies that show the increase in children born with autism seance putting fluoride in our water. It seems that people with the least knowledge of what is good or bad for the human body have control of our water supply. Ignorance should not be in charge of our water supply......
Stephen - The healthy water man posted at 12:50 pm on Fri, Aug 24, 2012.
It amazes me how many people that are in charge of our water supplies, have almost no knowledge of the effects contaminants can have on the human body. Some get there degrees to get a job and never keep up with new findings. New studies published in the journal Nuclear Medicine Communications January 2012 show the correlation between fluoride uptake and calcification of arterial walls, showing the ability to take up fluoride. There was also significant correlation between a history of cardiovascular events ( hart attacks ) and a presence of fluoride uptake in coronary arteries. Plus there are studies that show the increase in children born with autism seance putting fluoride in our water. It seems that people with the least knowledge of what is good or bad for the human body have control of our water supply. Ignorance should not be in charge of our water supply......
Arizona Willie posted at 11:19 am on Fri, Aug 24, 2012.
Our government officials do such a great job --- they hire hispanics with connections to Mexico for the Border Patrol to keep hispanics from illegally invading our country.
And then the keep getting caught helping the people they are supposed to be catching.
I wonder why.
They put a man in charge of flouridating the water whose wife led a political campaign to prevent exactly what her husband is being paid to do.
Then he gets caught not doing what he was paid to do.
I wonder why.
BlueHawks posted at 6:00 pm on Thu, Aug 23, 2012.
I wish they would not add Fluoride to the water. My child's teeth are turning brown due to Fluoridosis--too much fluoride exposure (every 6 mos dental treatment, toothpaste, and water consumption). Now I have to buy special non-fluoride toothpaste and try to prevent further damage.
Engaged Voter posted at 5:34 pm on Thu, Aug 23, 2012.
“Water fluoridation has been accepted as a safe, effective, and inexpensive method of preventing tooth decay,”
It should be easy to determine the truth of this statement. No flouride for 13 months.
If true, tooth decay and related issues should have skyrocketed in the affected areas in the last year.
And yet we've heard nothing of the sort. HMMMMMMM
mwmike posted at 5:30 pm on Thu, Aug 23, 2012.
No wonder the tea kooks all have rotten teeth.
IceCat posted at 4:24 pm on Thu, Aug 23, 2012.
Several years ago, the voters of Gilbert approved fluoridation of the town's water. Mr. Frost's wife was the head of the opposition. Doesn't take much to put the pieces to the puzzle together.
Engaged Voter posted at 3:20 pm on Thu, Aug 23, 2012.
Flouride is toxic, and decades of studies have shown that flouride in drinking water has absolutely no health benefits.
So, why do they continue to do it?
Dana Berchman, where are all the sick people from the lack of flouride? It's been an ENTIRE YEAR. Your "unacceptable" comment smacks of a lack of health education. Why would you possibly want to continue poisoning our drinking water?
Can anyone guess where else in history flouridated water was used for drinking?
(Google 'Nazi concentration camps' and learn for yourself)