Center for Disease Control Awards Spartanburg Water Quality Award
Staff Report From Spartanburg CEO
Tuesday, January 29th, 2019
The Oral Health Division of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control recently announced that the R.B. Simms Water Treatment Facility has been awarded a Water Fluoridation Quality Award from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Each year, CDC recognizes water systems that achieve optimal fluoridation levels for 12 consecutive months with its annual Quality Award.
Facilities must be in a state that uses the Water Fluoridation Reporting System to qualify. SCDHEC commended Spartanburg Water for outstanding performance in achieving a monthly average fluoride level that is in the optimal range for calendar year 2017.
“While our organization’s number one priority is providing safe drinking water for all our citizens, certainly this CDC award is extremely gratifying,” said Spartanburg Water Drinking Water Treatment Manager Ken Tuck.
Spartanburg Water has been committed to fluoridation for 50 years. The latest studies from CDC show that fluoridation prevents tooth decay in all age groups, not just children. Community water fluoridation has been recognized by CDC as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century. CDC recommends water fluoridation as one of the most practical, cost-effective, equitable and safe measures a community can take to prevent tooth decay and improve oral health.
SCDHEC is one of 21 state health departments receiving funding through CDC’s State Oral Disease Prevention Program (DP1307). These awards range from $230,000 to $310,000 per year, and are renewable.
The purpose of DP1307 is to help state health departments build or maintain public health capacity through collective impact—the commitment of a group of people from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific societal problem. States with public health capacity also use funds to implement proven community and clinical interventions that target vulnerable and underserved populations.