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Shall the City of Watsonville adopt an ordinance adding Section 6-3.443 to the Watsonville Municipal Code requiring that substances added to the public water supply for purposes other than
to make water safe satisfy two new standards: (a) approval by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration for specified purposes, and (b) cannot contain
contaminants at concentrations exceeding either the U.S. Maximum Contaminant
Level Goals or California Public Health Goals, whichever is more restrictive? |
Impartial
Analysis BY CITY ATTORNEY Measure S
Watsonville operates a public water system
with over 13,000 service connections. The City is subject to water quality
standards established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and
the California State Department of Health Services. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (“FDA”) does not regulate additives to public water supplies. The 1974 federal Safe
Water Drinking Act establishes national quality standards for drinking water.
That Act requires the “EPA” to establish national public drinking water
standards and prohibits states from relaxing those standards. The “EPA” has
set standards for a number of substances in public water supplies, including
fluoride. The California
Legislature has enacted the California Safe Drinking Water Act. That Act
requires the California Department of Health Services to regulate substances
in drinking water. In 1995, the legislature added Section 116410 to the Act
(California Health & Safety Code Section 116410). Section 116410 requires
the Department of Health Services to adopt standards for fluoridation of
public drinking water. In 1997, the Department of Health Services promulgated
regulations requiring cities with more than 10,000 water service connections
(like Watsonville) to fluoridate their public water systems if a source of
funds becomes available to pay for both the capital costs of the fluoridation
equipment and the operation and maintenance costs. In 2002, the
California Dental Foundation awarded the City of Watsonville a $946,000 grant
to pay for the installation of fluoridation facilities and the first year of
operation of the fluoridation system. After that funding became available,
the Department of Health Services notified the City that the City must
fluoridate its water supply. The City Council has directed the City Public Works
and Utilities Director to take the necessary steps to implement a public
water fluoridation program in Watsonville. This measure would
amend the Watsonville Municipal Code by making it unlawful to add any
substance to the public water supply to treat or affect the physical or
mental functions of the body unless the substance meets two tests. First, the
substance must have been specifically approved by the “FDA” for safety and
effectiveness with a safety margin that protects all adverse health and cosmetic
effects at all ranges of consumption. Second, at maximum use levels, the
substance must contain no contaminants or concentrations exceeding U.S.
Maximum Contaminant Level Goals or California Public Health Goals, whichever
is more protective. Since the “FDA” has never regulated fluoride nor
specifically approved its use, this Measure would prohibit the addition of
fluoride to the City’s water supply. Both the California
Attorney General’s Office and the Legislative Counsel of California have
issued legal opinion letters saying that if a measure like this is adopted in
Watsonville, it would conflict with and be pre-empted by State law thereby
making it unenforceable. No court of law has yet ruled on this issue however.
Until a court of law makes such a ruling, the two opinions are only
indicators of its legality, not binding on the City. In
order to be adopted, the Measure must be approved by a majority of the voters
voting on it. s/ Alan Smith City
Attorney |
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FULL TEXT OF BALLOT MEASURE
S AN ORDINANCE
BY THE VOTERS TO ADD SECTION 6-3.443 TO ARTICLE 4 (WATER SERVICE PROVISIONS)
OF CHAPTER 3 (CITY UTILITIES) OF TITLE 6 (SANITATION AND HEALTH) OF THE
WATSONVILLE MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO ADDITIVES TO THE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY SECTION
1. ENACTMENT. Article
4 (Water Service Provisions) of Chapter 3 (City Utilities) of Title 6
(Sanitation and Health) of the Watsonville Municipal Code is hereby amended
by adding Section 6-3.443 to read as follows: 6-3.443
Additives to the Public Water Supply. In
order to ensure that the public water of Watsonville is safe to drink, it
shall be unlawful and a public nuisance for any person, agent, or any public
or private water system, to add any product, substance, or chemical to the
public water supply for the purpose of treating or affecting the physical or
mental functions of the body of any person, rather than to make water safe or
potable, unless the substance meets the following criteria: (a) The
substance must have been specifically approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration for safety and effectiveness with a margin of safety that is
protective for all adverse health and cosmetic effects at all ranges of
unrestricted consumption. (b)
The
substance, at Maximum Use Levels, must contain no contaminants at
concentrations that exceed U.S. Maximum Contaminant Level Goals or California
Public Health Goals, whichever is more protective. SECTION
2. SEVERABILITY. If
any provision of this Article or the application thereof to any person or
circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other
provisions or applications of the Article which can be given effect without
the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this
Article are severable. SECTION
3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This
Ordinance shall be in force and take effect ten (10) days after the official
canvass of the November 5, 2002, Special Municipal Election pursuant to
California Election Code Section 4013. |
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44-516
VOTER
INFORMATION PAMPHLET
MEASURES, ANALYSES AND
ARGUMENTS (whichever is applicable to
your ballot) Arguments in support of, or in opposition to, the proposed laws are the opinions of the authors. |
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ARGUMENT
IN SUPPORT OF MEASURE S
This
ordinance establishes criteria, and assures, that should the City or any
other entity choose to add a substance to our drinking water for the specific
purpose of treating people rather than water, before exposing consumers to
the substance for the rest of our lives, the actual substance chosen to be
placed in the water must have gone through the appropriate approval process
by the FDA for the health claim made, as the FDA requires for any other
substance intended to treat people. Obviously,
there is a vast range in how much water individuals consume. This ordinance
requires that any substance chosen for the purpose of treating humans must be
approved for safety and effectiveness at all ranges of actual water
consumption, not an arbitrary one liter per day. This
ordinance also requires that any substance chosen to be added to our public
water supplies to fulfill a health claim not contain excessive levels of
contaminants such as lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium and other toxic elements
for which our water department is already committed to minimizing. This
ordinance does not require that the FDA monitor public drinking water, or
substances that make water safe or more drinkable. Nor does this ordinance
conflict with State or local laws calling for fluoridation. However,
opposition by promoters of fluoridation poses an important question: Why
would anyone truly concerned about the welfare of children fight so hard to
expose children, and all other consumers, to a substance with no
toxicological data, unapproved for the health claims presented, and
containing contaminants above already established public health goals? Protect
all citizens of Watsonville, at every economic level, from the addition of
untested products containing excessive levels of contaminants to our drinking
water under the guise of better health. Vote
Yes for safe drinking water!! s/ Judy Doering
Nielsen, Council Member, City of Watsonville s/
Juanita Martinez s/
Nick Bulaich s/
Dan Hernandez s/
Karell Reader |
ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE S Measure S may sound good, but don't be
fooled. It's misleading, deceptive, and bad for Watsonville. Supporters use scary-sounding language and
suggest we need Measure S to protect Watsonville's water. They're wrong. Our water is already safe to drink. Water
systems like ours are governed by strict federal and state regulations, and
are regularly tested. What's more, the Food and Drug
Administration mentioned in Measure S has absolutely nothing to do with
public water systems. Measure S sounds official, but it makes no sense. What the proponents DON'T tell you is
their real goal – to block water fluoridation for our community. That's a real disservice, because
Watsonville is facing a major crisis of dental disease. A recent school-based
screening found untreated dental decay in 75% of Watsonville's elementary
students – three times the national average! The good news is that this crisis can be
significantly avoided with fluoridation. Water fluoridation is a safe, economical and
effective way of promoting dental health for children and adults. More than
162 million people in the United States already enjoy its benefits.
Watsonville residents deserve fluoridation too! Experience in other communities shows a 20
- 60% reduction in tooth decay with fluoridation. The California Dental Association estimates that every dollar
invested in fluoridation saves $140 in dental bills. Fluoridation is supported by individuals
and organizations who are knowledgeable and trustworthy: the American Medical
Association, Center for Disease Control, and every U.S. Surgeon General for
the past 50 years. Last year our City Council wisely voted to
approve fluoridation, with overwhelming support from local dentists, doctors
and people from all walks of life. Measure S attempts to stop fluoridation
with misleading claims and impossible proposals. It puts the city at risk of
costly legal challenges, and undermines community health. VOTE NO on Measure S. s/ Dr. Janet Bell, Retired Watsonville
pediatrician s/ Bruce Woolpert, President and CEO, Graniterock s/ Dr. Art Dover, Watsonville pediatrician s/ Theresa Ontiveros, Manager, Planned Parenthood - Clinica Mariposa s/ Dr. Barry Staley, Dentist, Dientes! Community Dental Clinic |
44-517