The City of Calgary has provided an updated timeline for the reintroduction of fluoride to the city’s drinking water — and there has been another delay.

In a written update on Thursday morning, the city said the system is now anticipated to be up and running sometime “later in the second quarter of this year.”

Fluoride was removed from the city’s drinking water in 2011 and the necessary infrastructure was decommissioned and removed from the city’s water treatment plants.

1:45 Flouride debate back at Calgary city council

However, a decision to reintroduce fluoride was made after a plebiscite in the 2021 civic election found that 62 per cent of voters supported fluoridation.

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Construction began in September of 2023 and the city initially said the system should be operational in the fall of 2023.

That target date was changed several times — the latest was March 2025 — but Thursday’s announcement means it could take up to three months longer.

City officials said the equipment has been installed but still needs to be tested and inspected to make sure it’s operating properly.

The initial cost of the project was estimated at $10.1 million, but the latest estimate is almost triple that — $28.1 million.

The annual operating cost is expected to be about $1 million.