Let the fluoride flow

After a nearly four-year absence, fluoride will flow once again through the waters of Dorval, mayor Edgar Rouleau told The Chronicle.

"The equipment will be ready within the next week or so," he said. "There have to be no leaks," he added, stating the equipment in question would have to be thoroughly checked at Dorval's water plant.

A chemical that is endorsed by dentists and doctors as a way to prevent cavities, fluoride is added to drinking water in some municipalities, but the practice remains a rarity in Quebec. Anti-fluoride proponents say it can cause lead levels to rise in the blood. In 2006, a study showed that the number of cavities Dorval children had rose dramatically after the city stopped fluoridating its water.

With a tab of close to $500,000 picked up by the provincial government, the storied battle over fluoride in Dorval has ebbed and flowed since late 2003, when a malfunction of its old equipment put the city off the map of fluoridated water municipalities on the Island of Montreal.

"The delay was mainly because of Montreal," Rouleau said. With Dorval a part of the mega-city at the time fluoride stopped flowing, and the city being against the use of the chemical in tap water, Dorval had to argue at length to get its fluoride back. Even after demerging in 2006, it was thanks to provincial MNA François Ouimet’s interference that Dorval regained the right to decide whether or not they should have fluoride in their drinking water.

Not all Dorval residents were impressed with Rouleau's announcement. "They waited too long to let the citizens know that it was gone in the first place," Jean Clément, a member of the Citizens of Dorval for Democracy, who ran for council in the last elections, said.

Clément said there are no official letters to the public or press releases by the City of Dorval stating there is no more fluoride in the water dating earlier than 2006, over two years after the chemical first disappeared.

However, Rouleau countered the issue was mentioned in newspapers and would be obvious to those who attended council meetings, since items on the agenda included the replacement of fluoride treatment equipment. "(Former mayor) Peter Yeomans had mentioned it in the paper," Rouleau said.

The first time mention was made of fluoride missing in Dorval water in The Chronicle was in November 2005.

In the West Island, the City of Pointe Claire also fluoridates its water. However, Montreal does not, citing environmental and health concerns.