Water Plant: Fluoridation
For the next 41 minutes, Chad McCleary of ION Environmental Solutions provided a report to the council detailing the situation at the city’s water and wastewater plants, something he expects to do monthly going forward.
McCleary said filter one at the north water plant had required significant attention and has since been restored to proper operation. He also said unnecessary chemical dosing of filter two has been discontinued. According to McCleary, the changes have improved the plant’s overall performance.
McCleary advised the council to discontinue fluoridating the water supply when the new plant comes online as fluoride is a highly corrosive chemical that would quickly degrade the new equipment. Fluoridating is not required by the State of Iowa, and most Washington County towns don’t do it, he said.
The city’s raw water naturally contains .25 to .3 ppm, which they have been dosing up to .6 or .7, the “optimum dose” recommended by the CDC to prevent tooth decay, however, most water is not used for drinking, home water filters and softeners remove the fluoride, and toothpastes and mouthwashes provide adequate fluoride already, he argued.
The council agreed; in the action portion of the meeting, it voted to begin the process of ending fluoridation of the city’s water.
Original article online at: https://www.thenews-ia.com/stories/untitled,201053