Del Rio Stopped Adding Fluoride. Should It Return to City Water?

DEL RIO, Texas — The City of Del Rio will present an update Monday night on the future of fluoride in the public water system after the City stopped adding fluoride amid rising chemical costs, supply-chain difficulties and deteriorating equipment.

The presentation is scheduled as an informational item during the Nov. 9 City Council meeting, meaning no formal council action is currently scheduled.

According to the City’s presentation, Del Rio previously added hydrofluorosilicic acid, or HFS, to its treated water to raise fluoride levels for dental-health purposes.

The City says San Felipe Springs, Del Rio’s primary water source, already contains naturally occurring fluoride at an average concentration of approximately 0.2 milligrams per liter. When supplemental fluoride was being added, the system targeted approximately 0.7 mg/L.

The U.S. Public Health Service recommends 0.7 mg/L as the optimal fluoride concentration for cavity prevention. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says community fluoridation is not federally mandated and decisions are generally made at the state or local level.

Why did Del Rio stop adding fluoride?

The City says it stopped injecting HFS as it dealt with significant increases in chemical costs, supply-chain disruptions, a fixed operating budget and aging fluoride-storage infrastructure. The presentation does not specify the exact date fluoride injection stopped.

City staff now describes water-grade HFS as difficult to obtain domestically, with some supply coming through more expensive global sources.

The infrastructure used to store and inject the chemical has also deteriorated.

An assessment included in the council packet describes the HFS storage tank as noticeably corroded, with deterioration in the storage room. Pump components are listed as non-operational, while portions of the piping and valves are also described as corroded and non-operational.

Restarting would require significant work

If Del Rio chooses to resume fluoridation, the City says it would need to rebuild the bulk chemical storage tank, repair ventilation, replace the chemical-feed system from the pumps through the feed lines and complete extensive testing and verification before returning the system to service.

The City would also need to secure a reliable long-term source of HFS at a price that fits the municipal budget.

The presentation does not provide a dollar estimate for those improvements.

If the City instead permanently discontinues supplemental fluoridation, the presentation identifies no immediate infrastructure-rebuild or chemical cost, while Del Rio’s water would continue to contain the naturally occurring fluoride found in San Felipe Springs.

Federal drinking-water regulations separately limit excessive fluoride concentrations. The EPA’s current enforceable maximum contaminant level is 4.0 mg/L, substantially higher than the 0.7 mg/L public-health recommendation used for community fluoridation.

The City says the eventual decision will involve several considerations, including public-health impacts, long-term operating costs, regulatory compliance and community priorities.

The two options presented to council are to permanently discontinue supplemental fluoride injection or rebuild the system and resume fluoridation for dental-health purposes.