Outreach and Education

The Department of Health Services, at the direction of the Board of Supervisors, convened a Fluoridation Advisory Committee (FAC) in 2013 to provide guidance to the Department. The FAC was tasked with gathering and reviewing relevant data on public health, the environment, engineering, engineering costs, and planning related to community water fluoridation in Sonoma County. The FAC received community input in this process. The ultimate goal of the FAC was to use this process to develop recommendations regarding the feasibility of community water fluoridation for consideration by the Department.

Board of Supervisors Agenda Item Summary Report: February 26, 2013 (PDF: 2.02 Mb)

Fluoridation Advisory Committee Recommendations (PDF: 583 Kb)

Dental disease continues to be a source of preventable suffering and expenditures for Sonoma County residents of all ages. Each year, the direct cost of restoring new cavities in Sonoma County is $127 million dollars. Including the indirect costs of time and school funding brings the total to $141.6 million dollars.

The Department of Health Services has identified five key strategies, or pillars, to improve oral health in Sonoma County. Each pillar has unique benefits and impacts on population health. The implementation of each pillar also requires monetary and resource costs.

The purpose of this report is to estimate and summarize the various cost aspects of each pillar. It is not intended to promote one pillar at the expense of another; in fact, when implemented collectively, the strategies listed below may even provide a synergistic protective effect. A description of the pillars, their clinical implementation, and population potentially affected by each is provided in the text of this report.

Costs of Prevention and Early Treatment of Dental Disease in Sonoma County (PDF: 818 Kb)

Fluoridation of public water systems in California was first required in 1976. Current California law states that systems serving more than 10,000 connections must fluoridate if funding is made available to cover the capital expenses and twelve months of operations and maintenance. The law allows an exemption from the requirement in subsequent years if funding is not available. The Sonoma County Water Agency (Water Agency) provides wholesale water, primarily from the Russian River, to more than 600,000 people in Sonoma and Marin Counties.

In 2013 the Department of Health Services commissioned a preliminary engineering report to determine the technical feasibility and estimated cost of community water fluoridation.  The report also determined a preliminary basis of design for the facilities required to fluoridate the Water Agency’s water supply. The report includes the results of an examination of existing water quality, flow and facility data provided by the Water Agency and a review of all existing treatment and well facilities information and drawings, to determine the fluoridation systems and operations that provide the optimum safety, system performance and minimized capital and operation and maintenance (O&M) costs to the Water Agency.

Fluoridation Preliminary Engineering Design Report (PDF: 6.16 Mb)

The Sonoma County Department of Health Services commissioned an ecological assessment of potential impacts of community water fluoridation on local fish and wildlife. The Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) is responsible for the treatment and distribution of community drinking water within the SCWA service area which includes parts of Sonoma County and Marin County.

This report is focused on the assessment of potential impacts associated with community water fluoridation on federally listed salmonids in streams within the SCWA service area.

Assessment of Potential Impacts to Federally Listed Salmonids from Community Water Fluoridation in Sonoma County (PDF: 6.5 Mb)