SPRING HILL — City leaders voted unanimously Monday to quit adding fluoride to city water.

Alderman Amy Wurth asked the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for the change, saying that not all city residents may need the supplement because it appears in many more sources than it did in 1945, when fluor- idation began as a way to reduce dental decay.

Twelve states and the District of Columbia require fluoride use in public water systems. In Tennessee, community water systems make that decision locally.

Of the 479 community water systems in Tennessee, 303 add fluoride, according to TDEC’s Division of Water Supply.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services plans to lower the recommended level of fluoride in drinking water for the first time in nearly 50 years to reduce the possibility of children receiving too much fluoride.

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