BOH Agenda 032520 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Executive Summary In February 2017, Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) experienced an incident regarding overfeed of fluoride within the water treatment process. The overfeed was contained and no water with higher than normal fluoride levels reached the water pipe system supplying OWASA customers. OWASA made the decision to stop fluoridation of the drinking water for a period of eight months amid customers and residents voicing concerns regarding the health, safety and efficacy of fluoridation. In April 2017, the Orange County Board of Health wrote OWASA's Board of Directors affirming OWASA's decision to continue fluoridation of the water supply and offering supportive resources and facts. See Attachment 1. In October 2017, after purchasing new equipment to monitor the fluoride feed system, OWASA resumed fluoridation of drinking water. Due to continued community concerns, Ed Kerwin, Executive Director of OWASA and OWASA Board of Directors sent Dr. Dorothy Cilenti, Interim Orange County Health Director, a letter requesting that the Orange County Health Department assist OWASA in a periodic review process of drinking water fluoridation. The letter outlined key components for the review and requested feedback and recommendations. See Attachment 2. Dr. Cilenti presented the request to the Board of Health during the November 29, 2017 Board meeting. The Board decided to review next steps at the February 2018 meeting once the new Health Director was on board. See Attachment 3. On February 28, 2018 the Board of Health again discussed the letter from OWASA and voted unanimously to create a committee charged with developing a response plan. See Attachment 4. The Ad Hoc Fluoride Committee was finalized on March 25, 2018 and the first meeting was scheduled for June 6, 2018. Meeting outcomes included researching more about the public input process, researching 5