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On the calendar today …
- PUBLIC MEETING: Reclamation’s 2021 reinitiation of consultation on the SWP and CVP operations, otherwise known as the biological opinions, from 1pm to 3pm.
- WEBINAR: Lunch and Learn: Fish and Fish Habitats in South Bay Wetlands from 12pm to 1pm. Dr. Levi S. Lewis, Director of the UC Davis Otolith Geochemistry and Fish Ecology Laboratory, will discuss studies of South Bay fish and fish habitats, highlighting key findings regarding their status and trends, and how these results have informed the development of bay-wide fish monitoring under the Wetlands Regional Monitoring Program. Register here. For more information about the presentation, contact Ariel Ambruster, Restoration Project outreach coordinator, at aambrust@csus.edu.
In California water news today …
A big moment for the Delta — and Newsom knows it
“The country’s biggest water supplier is set to vote tomorrow on whether to fund one of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top priorities on water — and he’s not leaving the result up to chance. Newsom and his top aides are leaning on board members and top staff at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to approve additional funding to plan and permit the Delta Conveyance Project, a version of which has been floating around — first as a canal, then a pair of tunnels — for more than half a century. “We think this is an important moment,” Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said in an interview today. “This is clearly a priority for the governor, and so we need to communicate it as such.” … ” Read more from Politico.
Major Southern California water supplier to vote on spending $141.6 million on Delta tunnel project
“A major Southern California water supplier will vote Tuesday on whether to spend millions of dollars to help move forward a project that would tunnel water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Southern California. Members of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California will consider approving $141.6 million for the planning and preconstruction of the Delta Conveyance Project. The California Department of Water Resources requested $300 million from potential participants in order to continue advancing the project, with the MWD being asked to cover almost half the costs. The $141.6 million the MWD is considering approving would be distributed over the next three years, with almost $75 million coming in the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Earlier this year, a California judge said a law did not give the state permission to borrow billions of dollars needed for the project. … ” Read more from CBS News.
Examining City and County of San Francisco v. EPA
“A recent Clean Water Act case, City and County of San Francisco v. EPA, has the potential to impact policy around CWA enforcement and could be significant for water quality regulation across the United States. To learn more about the case and its significance, we asked Melissa Reynolds, associate at Holland & Hart, for some perspective. Reynolds works with clients to provide counsel on water quality and environmental compliance issues that may arise during project development, operation and closure. Prior to joining Holland & Hart, Reynolds worked for the Utah Attorney General’s Office’s Natural Resources Division, where she acted as general counsel to the State Engineer, and developed a comprehensive understanding of water rights statutes in Utah. Q: Can you briefly summarize the recent City and County of San Francisco v. EPA case and the general arguments on both sides regarding Clean Water Act enforcement? A: This case challenges the ability of EPA and states with delegated CWA programs to impose vague narrative standards in discharge permits issued for sewer overflows. EPA issued a combined sewer overflow permit to the City of San Francisco for its sewage system, and among other things, the permit prohibited discharges that “cause or contribute” to violations of water quality standards. … ” Read more from Water Finance & Management.
The longfin smelt joins the celebrated ranks of the federal ESA – but can it recover?
“Federal wildlife officials formally listed the San Francisco Estuary longfin smelt as an endangered species in July. Whether the action is a first step toward recovery or just an administrative milestone on the path to extinction is too early to say, but one thing is already clear: The longfin smelt is ominously close to vanishing. Now, as its existential clock ticks, scientists are hustling to better understand the species’ biology and environmental requirements and, with luck, safeguard its future. The estuary’s population of longfin smelt—Spirinchus thaleichthys, a species that can live in saltwater and ranges as far north as Alaska—has been declining for several decades, with an accelerated dip starting around the turn of this century. Once plentiful enough to be a target for commercial fishers, it now shows a feeble presence in annual sampling programs. The longfin smelt was listed by the state as a threatened species in 2009. The same year, the federal government rejected a petition for formal protection. Since then, the longfin smelt’s slip toward oblivion has continued, becoming too dire to ignore last decade. Its new status on the federal Endangered Species List—which specifically applies to the San Francisco Bay-Delta population—ushers it to the apex of protective regulations. … ” Continue reading at Maven’s Notebook.
‘More widespread’: Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ now found in rural California drinking water
“Juana Valle never imagined she’d be scared to drink water from her tap or eat fresh eggs and walnuts when she bought her 5-acre farm in San Juan Bautista, Calif., three years ago. Escaping city life and growing her own food was a dream come true for the 52-year-old. Then Valle began to suspect water from her well was making her sick. “Even if everything is organic, it doesn’t matter if the water underground is not clean,” Valle said. This year, researchers found worrisome levels of chemicals called PFAS in her well water. Exposure to PFAS, a group of thousands of compounds, has been linked to health problems including cancer, decreased response to vaccines, and low birth weight, according to a federally funded report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Valle worries that eating food from her farm and drinking the water, found also to contain arsenic, are to blame for health issues she’s experienced recently. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Consultant settles fraud allegations involving state Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund
“A Los Angeles-based consulting company accused of inflating invoices submitted to the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund will pay a $175,000 penalty to the State Water Resources Control Board to resolve the fraud allegations. The settlement resolves allegations against ENCON Technologies, Inc. over its submission of unreasonable and unnecessary labor hours. The company habitually charged the cleanup fund engineer rates for tasks performed by an employee that had no formal education, certification, or license in civil engineering. Additionally, ENCON failed to record its actual costs for labor hours and instead billed the fund in lump sum amounts in violation of Health and Safety Code requirements. As part of the settlement approved by the State Water Board on Dec. 3, ENCON, Inc. and its principal, G. Joseph Scatoloni, are disqualified from participating in State Water Board-funded programs. … ” Continue reading from the State Water Board.
Victoria Island levee repairs are underway in San Joaquin County
“Repairs to the Victoria Island levee in San Joaquin County are underway. The California Department of Water Resources stepped in for emergency construction after officials declared a local emergency earlier this year. Damage caused the levee to begin seeping. A temporary fix was made in October, but ultimately the seepage continued. Sean de Guzman is the manager of the flood operations section at the California Department of Water Resources. “Twenty-six or so feet deep there was this, layer of sand. Sand that was basically allowing some of the water get from the water side into the land side. So, it was actually seeping up on the land,” de Guzman said. … ” Read more from KCRA.
Achieving agricultural water sustainability at a lower cost
“The California Energy Commission (CEC) recently published the project report by AgMonitor Inc. (AgMonitor) on “Programmable Irrigation and Fertigation to Increase Energy Efficiency and Grid Stability in Disadvantaged Agricultural Communities.” The AI-powered platform integrates multiple data sets and domain expertise to boil down complex processes, such as scheduling irrigation or maintaining solar panels, into simple answers in English or Spanish across farming operations. Since 2020, farms in California have faced increases in their cost of water, labor, electricity, and fertilizer. Finding cost-effective solutions to help farms remain productive and competitive is vital for California’s continued growth and success. Farm sites that participated in the AgMonitor project from 2019 to 2023 improved precision in irrigation from 70% on average to over 90%. … ” Read more from Hort Daily.
Long-term atmospheric river history in California
“Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are associated with some of the largest flood-producing extreme precipitation events in western North America. As the primary storm mechanism in California, the difference of a few large AR storms in a year dramatically changes precipitation totals and drives the state towards water abundance or drought. Current records of AR activity are limited to just 70 years of instrumental data. So, the key question motivating this work was: what is the long-term history of AR storms in California? We can get insight into past extreme precipitation by looking to the sediment record. Under the right circumstances, clues to past climate and extreme precipitation are preserved in layers of sediment and allow us to reconstruct their history going back centuries to millennia. Long-term data help water managers avoid underestimation of potential flood risks and aid future planning scenarios, particularly for water infrastructure. … ” Continue reading at the USGS.
BirdReturns 2024: Creating wetlands for migratory birds
“Migratory birds face an increasingly challenging journey along the Pacific Flyway, a route stretching from the Arctic to the southern tip of South America. With habitat loss and drought tightening their grip on California’s Central Valley, finding crucial resting and refueling spots has become a struggle for these species. That’s where BirdReturns steps in—a flexible, cost-effective wildlife habitat marketplace designed to deliver shallow flooded habitats where and when birds need them most. By partnering with landowners, BirdReturns not only ensures essential habitat for migratory birds but also creates multiple benefits for farmers, wetland managers, and Central Valley communities. … ” Read more from Audubon.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Remaking the Klamath River: The largest dam-removal project in US history restores a once-great salmon migration route
“Over a hundred years ago, the Klamath River was caught up in the audacious endeavor to tame the West. Engineers built the Klamath Hydroelectric Project over a 60-year period starting in 1902, harnessing hydropower for a growing region. Six dams were built on a 55-mile stretch of river flowing through the shrubby basalt landscape of Southern Oregon and Northern California. Within a few short decades, the dams came to be seen as part of a fixed landscape—inevitable even. But of course, infrastructure projects and landscapes aren’t fixed. Rivers change course, bridges collapse, and even mountains move—acts of God, or nature, or human failing. The deliberate dismantling of a human monument can be a complicated task, requiring a clear-eyed assessment of the benefits and harms. It requires imagination and those with longer memories, such as the tribes who have lived in this region for millennia. The decommissioning of the four main dams on the Klamath River over the past two years—the largest dam-removal project in US history—proved that it can be done. … ” Read more from the Sierra Club.
USACE performs dam inspections following 7.0-magnitude earthquake
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District conducted routine inspections at four of its dams Dec. 5, 2024, following a reported 7.0 magnitude earthquake event off the coast of Northern California. Crews inspected Black Butte, Englebright, North Fork, and Daguerre Point dams and they are all operating safely and as designed, with no issues or concerns noted by dam operators. USACE policy requires post-seismic inspections for its project structures based upon the intensity or magnitude of a seismic event and the distance at which the event occurred from a project structure. The inspections are performed to ensure the safe performance and integrity of dams immediately following seismic activity. Routine annual inspections are also conducted at all projects to make informed decisions about dam operation and maintenance. The Sacramento District’s Dam Safety Program includes 17 dams within California’s Central Valley and within Seismic Zones 3 and 4. … ” Read more from the Army Corps of Engineers.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Amid sunny streak, a glimmer of snow appears in Tahoe’s forecast
“After record snowfall to jump-start winter in November, December has so far been high and dry in the Sierra Nevada, leaving Lake Tahoe ski resorts scrambling to make enough snow for skiers and snowboarders. Over the weekend, ski conditions were scrappy, if not icy, with rocks peeking up through the moguls like shark fins. That’s why people in Tahoe are hoping the storms beginning to show up in the forecast this week will come through. Two winter storms are forecast to brush through Lake Tahoe this week. The first is expected to arrive Wednesday and may deliver several inches of snow to the Sierra Nevada crest — just enough for the National Weather Service in Reno to call the storm an “appetizer.” … ” Read more from SF Gate.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Shasta Dam, Coleman hatchery, other California water projects get over $65M
“The North State is receiving more than $65 million from the federal government to repair and upgrade aging water infrastructure systems. The money will go toward 11 projects, from Shasta Dam south to the Coleman National Fish Hatchery to improve water conveyance and storage, increase safety, improve hydropower generation, provide water treatment, and benefit fish. The U.S. Department of Interior announced the funding earlier this month. All told, $849 million from President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda was delegated to water projects in 11 states. … ” Read more from the Redding Record-Searchlight.
NAPA/SONOMA
Sonoma Valley’s water system to undergo earthquake evaluation
“The 7.0 earthquake that rocked Humboldt County on Dec. 5 is a sobering reminder of the risks of living near fault lines, not just to the population, but also vital infrastructure. The Valley of the Moon Water District is taking the threat seriously by undertaking a seismic risk assessment to see what aspects of the Valley’s water system are most vulnerable to damage from earthquakes. The VOMWD has managed and operated water systems in Sonoma Valley since 1962. Its primary source of water is purchased Russian River water from the Sonoma County Water Agency. The water is pumped more than 30 miles through a below ground enclosed aqueduct. The district’s other source is local groundwater. The district first began a local hazard mitigation process in June of 2020 to identify the potential impacts of natural disasters on the Valley’s water system and find ways to prepare for them.Earthquakes are one such hazard. … ” Read more from the Index-Tribune.
BAY AREA
Marin awarded nearly $6M for coastal projects
“The California State Coastal Conservancy is investing nearly $6 million in the restoration and management of Marin County shorelines. The allocation is part of a larger statewide distribution of more than $113 million approved last month to protect the coast from the effects of climate change. In Marin, a $1.4 million grant is going to Tiburon to fund the final phase of restoration at Greenwood Beach and Brunini Beach at Blackie’s Pasture. “Blackie’s Pasture is a much-loved and used historical public park that has a highly eroded shoreline, typical of many locations around SF Bay,” said David Eshoo, engineering manager for the town. “This grant will pay for 100% of the construction costs including post-construction monitoring for three years.” … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.
Martinez Refining Co. to pay $4.5 million for Clean Water Act violations
“The Martinez Refining Co. will pay $4,482,000 to settle allegations of Clean Water Act violations linked to its refinery in Contra Costa County, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board announced today. The company allegedly discharged millions of gallons of wastewater from oil refinery processes, which harmed water quality and threatened aquatic life in marshes linked to Carquinez Strait. The refinery, which is owned by PBF Energy Inc., produces a broad range of petroleum products. The enforcement order addresses three instances of unauthorized discharges into nearby marshes … ” Continue reading at the State Water Board.
Column: These S.F. residents haven’t received a water bill in 2 years. Even the city doesn’t know how much they owe
Emily Hoeven writes, “Imagine you owe someone a lot of money, but you don’t know exactly how much or when you’ll have to pay it. Then imagine that your debtor also doesn’t know how much money you owe or when they’ll even send you the bill. Sound like a strange and stressful situation? Well, it’s the reality facing thousands of San Franciscans — who haven’t received a water bill from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission for months or even years. Among them are Will Tong and his wife, Maryanne McGlothlin, and Molly Nixon and her wife, Luciana Padilla, whose homeowner’s association hasn’t received a water bill for their two-condo property in Bernal Heights since January 2023. For months, the unresolved billing issue lingered in Tong’s mind. He kept thinking the Public Utilities Commission would reach out but received nothing but radio silence until September 2024. That’s when the agency began broadly alerting customers that technical snafus that apparently became widespread around October 2023 had delayed bills for about 8,200 households — about 4% of customers — who would soon be on the hook for the backlogged charges. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Belmont Creek restoration continues in midst of tight deadline
“The first phase of a large-scale effort to mitigate flooding around the Belmont Creek watershed is set to begin next year, with strict funding conditions stipulating its completion by around October 2025. According to a staff report, the project, focused in Twin Pines Park, will restore the banks and channel bottom of about 500 feet of Belmont Creek, upstream and downstream of the Redwood Picnic Area pedestrian bridge. The effort would consist of removing invasive vegetation, while also revegetating eroded creek banks. About 36 trees would be removed, most of them eucalyptus, although about 48 would be replanted. … ” Read more from the San Mateo Daily Journal.
Bay commission adopts regional plan to gird coastal communities for impact of rising seas
“A master strategy for adapting Bay Area cities for sea level rise has received approval from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, also known as BCDC. The process will work similarly to state housing initiatives, with funds available for planning and projects, but the enforcement element will be left to Mother Nature. “We are anticipating costs of rising sea level adaptation projects to be about $110 billion for the entire Bay Area by 2050,” said Rylan Gervase, spokesperson for the BCDC. “If we don’t act, that number is going to rise to about $230 billion in damages. So, it’s important for everyone to get out there and do as much as they can in front of the problem.” … ” Read more from Local News Matters.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Local groundwater agencies avoid state takeover
“The Kaweah Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) received a reprieve when the State Water Boards announced the cancellation of an upcoming probationary hearing. Across the state, GSAs are under pressure to generate plans focused on the sustainability of groundwater resources and many are facing probation, which would shift management from local agencies to the state. Three GSAs in the Valley potentially avoided takeover after state staff determined they needed additional time to analyze submitted plans. Hearings scheduled in January have been cancelled, according to the State Water Boards. … ” Read more from the Foothills Sun-Gazette.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Santa Ana brings travel problems, wildfire risk to Southern California
“A Santa Ana kicked up late Monday and will continue into Tuesday night over portions of Southern California. A fire near Southern California’s downtown Malibu ignited late Monday and is spreading quickly, prompting mandatory evacuations and threatening structures, including the city’s iconic Malibu Pier. Nearby Pepperdine University canceled classes Tuesday and ordered students to shelter in place. The inferno is already closing in on 2,000 acres, CALFire said. While this Santa Ana is not an extreme wind event, AccuWeather meteorologists believe there is still be some risks to lives and property. A building area of high pressure across the Great Basin will be the driving force behind the gusty winds. The rising pressure forces a rush of wind over the ridges, down the slopes and through the northeast-to-southwest-orientated valleys and canyons in Southern California. … ” Read more from AccuWeather.
SEE ALSO: Santa Ana winds: facts and fiction, from AccuWeather
Construction begins on Lake Perris Emergency Release Facility Project
“Furthering efforts to modernize California’s water infrastructure and improve public safety, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is starting construction on the Lake Perris Emergency Release Facility project this month in Riverside County. The project will build new infrastructure to safely redirect water and protect the community should Lake Perris need to be lowered during an emergency event, like a major earthquake. Planned improvements will include new levees, bridges, and a local drainage system downstream of Perris Dam. With this additional infrastructure, water could be redirected from Lake Perris through levees into a drainage channel and ultimately into the Perris Valley Channel. These upgrades along with improved roadside landscaping and relocation of utilities will provide protection to the community and other infrastructure, including a local school, Interstate 215, and a water treatment plant. … ” Read more from DWR.
SAN DIEGO
As the federal government scales down fluoride in drinking water, San Diego’s levels rise
“The federal government is scaling back its dependence on fluoride in drinking water after new studies found a link between high fluoride exposure to behavioral issues and lower intelligence in children. Despite this, data obtained by CBS 8 shows that over the past five years, San Diego residents have seen higher levels of fluoride than before and fluctuating levels from one testing station to the next. According to the data obtained through a public records request, the highest fluoride reading in more than five years was taken in San Carlos in August 2024. The reading registered 1.1 milligrams of fluoride per liter, just .01 milligrams less than the state threshold allows. Meanwhile, the lowest reading also occurred in 2024 but less than 10 miles away in Kensington, where in April 2024, city water testers found just .22 milligrams of fluoride per liter. … ” Read more from Channel 8.
Along the Colorado River …
What happened in Vegas? Nothing, unfortunately
“There’s an old saying that what happens in Las Vegas stays there. Unfortunately, that turned out to be true for water officials from the seven Western states served by the Colorado River, who attended the three-day Colorado River Water Users Association conference but didn’t meet to discuss long-term solutions for the overburdened river. According to the Denver Post, negotiators from the Lower Basin – California, Arizona and Nevada – and those from the Upper Basin states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico presented their own competing plans in separate panels during the conference in early December. The two sides blamed each other for the communication breakdown, the newspaper reported. … ” Read more from the Western Farm Press.
SEE ALSO:
- ‘Zero progress’: Western states at impasse in talks on Colorado River water shortages, from the LA Times
- Where California stands in the multistate negotiations over the Colorado River, from the LA Times
America’s largest reservoir is filling up with water thanks to California
“After years of decline and the threat of reaching “dead pool” status, Lake Mead’s water levels are finally on the rise, the Colorado River Board of California announced last week.The fate of the Nevada reservoir has long been intertwined with the actions of farmers in California’s Imperial Valley, who hold some of the oldest water rights to the Colorado River and receive the largest share of the drought-stressed river’s water in California. Now, efforts to cut back water use in California’s hot and dry southeastern corner seem to be paying off. Lake Mead’s water level is up by 16 feet after two years of voluntary conservation by California water users, according to the Colorado River Board of California. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
Commentary: Inside Arizona’s plan to build houses without draining our water
Opinion columnist Joanna Allhands writes, “How can metro Phoenix erase an acute housing shortage without draining its aquifers, now that the groundwater on which much of this growth once relied is spoken for? It’s a thorny policy question to weed through. State law requires subdivisions in metro Phoenix to prove they have enough water to sustain themselves, before they build. And for years, that happened in one of two ways: A designated water provider — one that has enough renewable water to serve current and some future customers for 100 years — could agree to serve the new development, or a housing subdivision could earn a certificate from the state to pump groundwater, then join a district that would replenish most of what they pump on their behalf. But the state cut off the latter practice once it was clear that we had begun bumping up against our groundwater supply’s limits. … ” Read more from Arizona Central.
Opposition surfaces as deadline nears to ratify tribal water settlement in Arizona
“A coalition of tribes, water officials and water board members from the Lower Basin of the Colorado River came to the Colorado River Water Users Association meeting last week on a mission: overcome resistance by Upper Basin states to passing key water rights settlement legislation before Congress adjourns later this month. The Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act would ratify an agreement reached after nearly six decades of negotiation and litigation over portions of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers and groundwater. The settlement act would also fund the infrastructure to bring safe and reliable water to the Navajo Nation and the Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes, which most Arizonans take for granted. … ” Read more from Arizona Central.
In national water news today …
The role of metrics in water and wastewater affordability programs in the US
“In September 2024, 15 water professionals from 10 organizations gathered virtually for the fourth and final project workshop, Measuring Outcomes in Affordability Efforts (see also the blogs summarizing workshops 1, 2, and 3). Participants included representatives from six water utilities and four nonprofits across the U.S. The virtual workshop included breakout groups to foster conversation and incorporate participants’ experiences. Participants discussed how their organizations define affordability, the benchmarks they use, and the metrics they track to evaluate the success of their various affordability interventions (e.g., assistance programs, leak repair, etc.). This blog highlights key insights from the workshop. The findings will be analyzed in a final report to be published by WRF in 2025. … ” Read more from the Pacific Institute.
US EPA bans toxic dry cleaning chemical
“The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday issued a ban on a highly toxic chemical used in dry cleaning, glue and stain removers, a move the agency called a “major milestone for chemical safety after decades of inadequate protections and serious delays.” The new rule will ban the manufacture and processing of trichloroethylene (TCE) for most products within one year, allowing a longer phaseout period for TCE use in aircrafts, medical devices and some other applications. TCE is a known human carcinogen, and is also linked to birth defects and liver and kidney disease, as well as a surge in global Parkinson’s disease diagnoses. “With no doubt that these chemicals are deadly, there is no doubt that this final rule will save lives – especially our children’s lives – around the country,” Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) said in a statement. … ” Read more from The New Lede.
SEE ALSO: EPA bans cancer-causing chemicals used in dry cleaning, from the New York Times
The oil railway that launched a Supreme Court NEPA war
“On a snowy October morning, a parade of trucks struggled to navigate a mountain pass, toting massive freights of thick, waxy crude from an oil patch located about 100 miles away. Some local residents say there is a better way to transport the oil that helps fuel their economy. The solution: Build an 88-mile rail spur to link the fossil fuel-rich Uinta Basin to an existing national rail network that would ship their product all the way to refineries near the Gulf of Mexico. To do that, they’ll first need a little help from the nation’s highest court. “When my grandpa was alive, they built things. They built dams, they built roads, they built railroads, they built infrastructure,” said Casey Hopes, chair of the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, which is fighting alongside the Biden administration for the Supreme Court to streamline the environmental analysis supporting the Uinta Basin Railway. “What was the last big piece of infrastructure our nation put in that really made a critical difference?” … ” Read more from E&E News.
Colorado Springs’ mysterious brown teeth led a dentist to discover the benefits of fluoride. Now it faces a new chapter.
“In the early-1900s, a dentist arrived in Colorado Springs and made an observation that was something like: Holy cow, the people in this town have strong but ugly teeth. Residents’ teeth looked gawdawful — stained dark brown with what the dentist, Dr. Frederick S. McKay, called “mottled enamel.” But there was a shockingly low incidence of tooth decay in those chocolate-colored chompers. McKay’s decades-long quest to understand what was going on led to a revolution in dental medicine and drinking water treatment that continues to stir debate today and now may take center stage as one prominent piece of a massive shift in the U.S. public health system. The issue has to do with fluoride, a chemical naturally abundant in drinking water in Colorado Springs a century ago. The realization that fluoride could make teeth resistant to decay led to widespread fluoridation of drinking water by utilities across the country — a movement considered by many to be among the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. (The discoloration, dubbed the “Colorado brown stain,” was due to fluoride levels quite a bit higher than what is in drinking water today.) … ” Read more from the Colorado Sun.
