Resumption of Lake Major water fluoridation could take years
Halifax Water Faces Lengthy Delay in Resuming Fluoridation Process at Lake Major Water Supply Plant
It could be a considerable amount of time before the Lake Major water supply plant is able to resume its fluoridation process, which has been offline since April 2020. Limited chemical storage space at the facility is a key factor in the potential delay, with estimates ranging from one year to as long as 10 years before fluoridation can be reinstated, as revealed during a presentation to Halifax’s environment and sustainability standing committee by Halifax Water.
The plant serves customers in Dartmouth, Cole Harbour, Eastern Passage, North Preston, Westphal, and Burnside, providing essential drinking water to these communities. Over the years, the volume of alum used to treat the lake water has increased significantly, from 200,000 kilograms when the plant was first commissioned in 1999 to now exceeding one million kilograms.
Wendy Krkosek, Halifax Water’s director of environment, health, and safety, highlighted the necessity of expanding storage capacity within the plant due to the increased alum usage. Halifax Water is currently exploring three options to reintroduce fluoride, a mineral that plays a crucial role in dental health by protecting teeth from cavities and decay.
The preferred option involves relocating the storage area for orthophosphate, a chemical used for corrosion control, to another part of the facility. This adjustment would facilitate the installation of an additional alum tank and enable fluoride to be back online within two years, at an estimated cost of $1 million.
Another option under consideration is to repurpose the ongoing alum tank installation for fluoride, expediting the process to reinstate fluoride within a year at a cost below $500,000. However, this approach poses risks in case of any changes in water quality.
The third option entails incorporating fluoridation into major long-term capital upgrades at the Lake Major facility, extending the timeline to five to 10 years for fluoride to be reintroduced and costing under $500,000. Deputy Mayor Tony Mancini expressed support for the two-year timeframe of the first option, emphasizing the importance of not delaying fluoride supplementation for children.
Halifax Water plans to present these options to its board of commissioners on March 27 for further consideration. Meanwhile, the Nova Scotia Environment Department recognizes the significance of fluoridation in safeguarding public health, citing strong scientific evidence in support of this practice.
Halifax Water has a history of adding fluoride to some of its water supply plants since the 1950s, but the six smaller treatment plants have never incorporated fluoride. Fluoridation of drinking water at Halifax Water’s Pockwock Lake facility resumed in December 2024 following a hiatus of over a year.
In a post on its website in January, Halifax Water explained that the decision to take the fluoride tank at Lake Major offline in 2020 was due to safety concerns as it reached the end of its useful life. Despite initiating a replacement project in 2021-22, unforeseen challenges arose from extreme weather events in 2023, necessitating increased chemical usage to maintain compliance with regulations.
