INVERNESS — City council members will decide tonight if they want to discontinue adding fluoride to the city’s public water supply.

Inverness followed the lead of many cities in the past several decades and introduced fluoride to its water in the late 1980s. It was seen as a way to help prevent tooth decay. However, City manager Frank DiGiovanni said 99 percent of the fluoride in drinking water goes down the drain and into the environment.

“Don’t know why, but most consume water from a bottled supply,” DiGiovanni said in a staff report.

DiGiovanni said it is costing the city some $15,000 per year to add the fluoride. Many people today are getting their fluoride from different sources, including dental hygiene products such as mouth rinses, he said.

The city manager also said many people do not like the addition of chemicals to the water and he believes the taste of city water will improve. The city council meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at city hall, 212 W. Main St.

Also tonight…

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