The Greenville City Council may vote to resume adding fluoride into the local water supply for the first time in two years.

The council is scheduled to meet in a regular session starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, with the regular agenda set to begin at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

In a memo to the council, Director of Public Works John Wright noted the City of Greenville ceased fluoridation of its drinking water in Sept. 2013.

“Fluoride concentration found naturally in the City’s raw water supply averages one-half of the fluoride level recommended by the EPA,” Wright said. “Addition of fluoride to the City’s treated drinking water would take this natural concentration of about .3 parts per million (ppm) up to the recommended level of 0.7 ppm.”

Wright said there would no financial impact, as the estimated $50,000 in expenses would be covered in the city budget.

During the July 26 council meeting, Drs. Jeffrey Nelson, D.D.S. and David Fry, M.D. both addressed the council on the subject of adding fluoride back in to the city’s drinking water. Fry and Nelson stated that Greenville residents could save on both medical bills and physical discomfort by raising the amount of fluoride in the water from the current level of 0.7 ppm, which Nelson said could reduce cavity rates by 25 percent in the city. A concentration of 0.7 ppm is the minimum recommended level suggested by the Centers for Disease Control.

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