Council defeats water ordinance

A “water quality assurance” ordinance sank Monday in a controversy over fluoridation of Spokane’s drinking water.

The Spokane City Council voted 5-2 against the ordinance in part because it could impede a petition drive to put fluoridation before voters next year, council members said.

The vote came after nearly two hours of testimony that paralleled the ongoing debate over fluoridation.

A petition drive earlier this year failed to gain a spot on the Spokane ballot when supporters of fluoridation did not submit enough signatures to qualify the initiative for the ballot.

They said they plan to launch a new initiative petition drive next year.

Council members Bob Apple and Cherie Rodgers proposed the water quality ordinance, and they had the backing of fluoridation opponents. The other five council members all voted against it.

The ordinance seemed simple enough. It would have required that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approve any substance added to city water to treat human health.

However, the FDA regulates mainly food and drugs as well as water used in those products. The FDA also regulates bottled water, but not municipal water supplies.

That is left to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The state Department of Health also has a role in regulating water supplies.

Councilman Al French said the ordinance sought to impose an “unachievable threshold” for any future effort to fluoridate Spokane’s drinking water by requiring FDA approval even though FDA could not give such approval.

He said the issue of fluoridation has sparked passion in many city residents, and he believes the issue is best decided at the polls, not by the City Council.

French said Spokane water has maintained good quality. “Our water is already regulated,” he said.

Part of the motive behind the ordinance is a concern that one of the commonly used fluoride additives also may contain minute amounts of arsenic, mercury and lead at well below safety thresholds.

The proposed ordinance “ups the standards for water,” Apple said. “We need to be certain what we are putting in our water is absolutely the best.”

Rodgers said she is concerned that fluoride and any associated contaminants would leach into the region’s underground water supply through its use on lawns and gardens.

“I support any ordinance that protects water quality,” Rodgers said.

Councilwoman Mary Verner lost a vote on an amendment that would have avoided FDA approval of substances added to drinking water. Her proposal called for following FDA standards for bottled water.

She said she may bring it back for reconsideration at another council meeting.

Dr. Kim Thorburn, health officer for the Spokane Regional Health District, argued against the water quality ordinance and in favor of fluoridation.

She said the National Sanitation Foundation is the agency that certifies water additives, and has given that certification to the most commonly used forms of fluoride additives.

She said fluoride has been proven to improve the oral health of a community and its safety is “well demonstrated.”

Dr. Chris Olson, a pediatrician in Spokane, said fluoride will help prevent cavities in kids and the sometimes severe pain they suffer from untreated decay.

Fluoride opponent Pearl Schmidt summed up the sentiment of the people on her side of the debate.

“I like my water pure and clean,” she said.