Studying fluoride's effect on lead leaching will delay re-introduction 12 months

BRIAN CROSS 

The controversial re-introduction of fluoride will be delayed 12 months while experts operate a miniature mock-up of the water system to test for possible increased lead levels.

The risk of lead leaching is very low, according to a consultant hired by Windsor Utilities Commission. But the 12-month pipe loop study was urged out of an abundance of caution “to ensure that lead release does not increase after fluoride introduction.”

The study will delay fluoridation until November 2021, commissioners were told Wednesday during a progress report on the re-introduction. The city has been without fluoride more than six years and the study will mean another year delay, but WUC officials believe they can do nothing else but recommend the study, said Helga Reidel, CEO of Enwin, which manages the water system for WUC.

“It’s too important. This is the water system,” she told commissioners, who approved the study...............