In January 2017, National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), in partnership with the CDC, announced the project “Building Capacity for Oral Health: Fluoridation Equipment in Local Communities,” designed to support communities to either replace aging water fluoridation equipment or install new equipment for CWF. This one-time funding opportunity also helped to identify the need for assistance to support core infrastructure and inform future opportunities for similar projects.

While these community water systems work to diligently maintain their equipment, aging equipment poses a challenge after many years of use, particularly for small systems where resources are scarce. NACCHO received 27 grant applications from 13 states. A total of $125,000 was awarded to the following six grantees:

• Bowling Green Municipal Utilities, KY (pop. 125,000)
• City of Fircrest, WA (pop. 6,500)
• City of Kannapolis, NC (pop. 53,100)
• Jefferson Parish Water Department East Bank, LA (pop. 243,782)
• Versailles Municipal Utility, KY (pop. 6,200)

• West Virginia Oral Health Coalition, WV (pop. 1,634)