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The California Department of Public Health requires all drinking water additives, including fluoride, to meet the requirements of NSF 60, the nationally recognized health effects standard for chemicals used to treat drinking water. 47 states require that chemicals used in the treatment of potable water meet the NSF 60 standard.
Hydrofluorosilicic acid, the additive we use, meets the requirements of NSF 60 and therefore is an approved fluoride compound.
State legislation on water fluoridation also has a bearing on this issue. State Assembly Bill 733, which became law in 1995, requires water systems in California that have 10,000 or more service connections to fluoridate the water. The law does exempt water systems from this requirement if they do not have funds from outside sources to pay for the costs of fluoridation. Under the statute, “outside sources” are defined as sources other than the system’s ratepayers, shareholders, local taxpayers, bondholders, or any fees or charges levied by the water systems.
Annually MMWD receives about 1 million dollars in rental income from antenna site and property leases. This income qualifies as an “outside source.”
A careful review shows that even if there were a ballot measure within MMWD’s service area to overturn the 1978 fluoridation ballot measure, there is a strong argument and likelihood that the district would still be required to fluoridate the water supply because:• MMWD has more than 10,000 service connections• MMWD has outside income to pay the annual costs of fluoridation