District Water
The Santa Clara Valley Water District is a countywide water wholesaler and groundwater management agency. They sell their treated water to local retailers (municipalities and private companies, such as the San Jose Water Co) who then deliver water to homes and businesses throughout the county. 15 Cities and towns in Silicon Valley drink District Water.
SCVWD water has never been fluoridated, however in November 2011, The Board members of the Santa Clara Valley Water District voted to add fluoride to the public drinking water. We were the last large municipality in the United States to have clean, fluoridation free water for over 70 years. What changed?
So why now is the SCVWD fluoridating its water voluntarily?
Because one of their biggest customers, The San Jose Water Company must comply with California State Mandate AB733 and this is the most cost effective way for the San Jose Water Co to meet the State requirements. California Assembly Bill 733 was signed into law by Governor Pete Wilson in 1995, which authorized the California Department of Health Services to require water suppliers with 10,000 or more service connections or customers to fluoridate their public water supply. Funding was offered up to the District by the California Dental Association Foundation, First 5 of California and the Health Trust of Silicon Valley to make this happen. Even though the law states that ongoing maintenance and cost cannot be passed onto the consumer, the taxpayers of Santa Clara County will see an increase on their property tax bill to help fund District water fluoridation.
Win-win for them, not for us…
How much fluoride will be in my drinking water once SCVWD starts to fluoridate?
Once the district begins to fluoridate, drinking water levels will average about 0.7 ppm to 0.8 ppm. However, since the district is a drinking water wholesaler, and many retail water agencies in Santa Clara County have more than one source of supply, the water delivered to your home may not come from SCVWD. Interested consumers should contact their water provider to find out how much fluoride, if any, is likely to be in their tap water. LINK TO MAP HERE
What fluoridating chemical will the District use? Is it safe and effective?
The SCVWD has chosen the highly corrosive 1.2 pH chemical, fluorosilicic acid to be used in the district's fluoride treatment process. As far as being safe and effective – Long-term toxicological studies are just one element of the product review data required to be submitted by the manufacturer of water additives to the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) in order to demonstrate compliance with the ANSI/NSF 60 Standard. This is what the District follows. Yet since the NSF is not a public agency they have repeatedly refused requests to produce any documents verifying safety for ingestion by all water consumers, asserting that the NSF is not subject to laws, such as the California Public Records act, or the Federal Freedom of Information act. Hmm…The NSF is on record stating that “The documents submitted by the manufactures to earn certification and the written report issued by the NSF upon certification are considered private property of the manufacture, and that therefore the NSF does not have the authority to release them.” So where does the burden of proof for safety fall? The District, the supplier or the manufacture? On the other side, are many studies out of Harvard and peer-reviewed scientific papers that water fluoridation does more harm than benefit. A recent Cochrane Review, known to be the "Gold Standard" of scientific research and good science said “That they could NOT find a single well done research study that showed fluoridation to be either safe or effective.” – Newsweek, 6/29/15. You decide…
What is Hydrofluorosilicic Acid?
Fluorosilicic acid is a waste product of the phosphate fertilizer industry and is heavily contaminated with toxins and heavy metals (including arsenic, lead and cadmium) and radioactive materials. This substance is the waste residue from the phosphate fertilizer industry, and about 70 to 75 percent of this stuff comes from the Cargill/Mosaic fertilizer manufacturing companies.
Dr. J. William Hirzy, EPA scientist, states that:
“If the stuff gets out into the air, it’s a pollutant; if it gets into the river, it’s a pollutant, if it gets into a lake, it’s a pollutant; but if it goes right straight into your drinking water system, it’s not a pollutant. That’s amazing!”
There are only 2 places that this toxic waste product is allowed to be dispersed:
1. In designated hazardous waste facilities
2. In our drinking water
IS THIS WHAT WE WANT IN OUR WATER?