Lack of Fluoride in Buffalo Drinking Water Harms Public Health and Public Trust

Sometimes two seemingly completely unrelated events come together to show a larger, more important story that needs to be told. Recently, settlements were reached in the Flint water contamination case. In case you forgot, the city of Flint was placed under receivership by the state of Michigan from 2011 to 2015. During that time, state-appointed emergency managers decided to cut costs by changing the city’s municipal water source after a cost increase. by the also cash-strapped Detroit Water Department, the source of the city’s drinking water at the time. Their county was in the process of opening a new water treatment facility, but it would take several years to complete. The emergency manager’s decision was to reopen a mothballed facility in Flint to use the local Flint River (instead of Lake Huron) as a local water source.

This decision led to the Flint Water Crisis, which made national news from April 2014 to 2015. The change in source and treatment facility exposed residents to lead levels well above safe levels determined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Lead is dangerous at all levels and the levels reported were high, but it was the immediate increase in detected lead and not the elevated levels that attracted media attention. In fact, as we’ve previously reported, many older cities (including Buffalo) have higher levels of lead in household drinking water.

Lead is not the unrelated link in this story. Buffalo found out near the end of a January 2023 Buffalo Water report:

FLUORIDE ADDED INFORMATION – Our system is one of many drinking water systems in New York State that provides drinking water with a controlled low level of fluoride for the protection of the dental health of consumers. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), fluoride is very effective in preventing cavities when present in drinking water at a properly controlled level. There is currently a hiatus in fluoride addition due to ongoing capital improvements associated with upgrading our fluoride system. As of June 22, 2015, no fluoride has been added to your drinking water, and we do not anticipate the addition of fluoride to be reinstated until various capital projects are completed. You may want to discuss this with your family dentist to see if another form of fluoride supplement should be considered for your dental protection.

Yes, the fluoride that prevents cavities and tooth decay has been missing from the water supplied to city residents for the past nine years. After this report was released, the Buffalo Water Authority (BWA) told the Common Council that fluoride treatments would resume by August, but did not explain the delay beyond the need for “water upgrades.” system “. A closer inspection of their annual reports would have identified it sooner. In 2018, the BWA report stated that “we do not expect the addition of fluoride to be reinstated until December 2018.” Two class-action lawsuits have been filed against the City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Water Authority, with damages estimated to exceed $160 million.

Here’s the link: During the Flint Water crisis, Veolia, a company that manages drinking water plants around the world, was hired as a consulting engineering firm to manage the new water distribution system . They recently agreed to a $25 million settlement to resolve a federal class action lawsuit related to their work in Flint. This is the same company that operates the Buffalo Water Authority’s water treatment plant.

There remain more questions than answers. Mainly, what led to the alleged nine years of “system upgrades”? And will we be informed when/if fluoride is added to Buffalo’s water? In the meantime, if you live/work in the City of Buffalo and drink water, as the January 2023 Buffalo Water report states: At a minimum, “you may want to discuss this with your family dentist to see Whether another form of fluoride supplement should be considered for your dental protection.

Main image: Photo by mrjn Photography