Aspen City Councilman Bill Guth has suggested bringing a question about fluoridated water to Aspen voters in November.
The suggestion came during a presentation from the Aspen Water Department about the city’s water treatment processes and levels of fluoride in the municipal supply during a council work session on Monday. City staff presented updates to council members after receiving public comment and email correspondence about the community fluoridation program in the wake of an August 2024 federal court ruling that renewed the debate over what levels of fluoride are safe in drinking water.
The conversation also was sparked by recent statements from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services director. Kennedy has indicated there may be a federal policy shift to discontinue community water fluoridation, according to a city memo about the Monday presentation. The U.S. Senate Finance Committee will vote on Kennedy’s nomination today; forwarding his nomination to the full Senate will require a simple majority of committee members.
The city held a vote in 1989 asking voters to continue community water fluoridation — it passed by nearly 1,000 votes. The city council passed a resolution in 2012 continuing the water fluoridation program and adopting the fluoride concentration the city uses today: 0.7 milligrams per liter. The city follows guidelines from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, the Environmental Protection Agency and the HHS about fluoride levels.
Guth suggested placing a question on the November ballot to gauge community sentiment about the practice. He said he had no concerns about the city’s water quality.
“It’s not something that I alone would want to independently make the decision on for our community. I think there’s great arguments on both sides,” he said. “There’s a history behind (a ballot question) happening in 1989, according to the memo, and that’s a long time in the past. It would be appropriate to sort of present the arguments and let the community decide what’s best for us.”
The CDPHE recommends that public water systems maintain fluoride levels in drinking water at 0.7 mg/L to protect against tooth decay. Community water fluoridation in the United States began in 1945 and is credited with a dramatic decline in cavities, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Research shows community water fluoridation reduces cavities by around 25%, according to the CDC.
In the fall, debate renewed about water fluoridation following a U,S. district court ruling in northern California that said community water fluoridation at optimal levels poses an unreasonable risk to public health under the Toxic Substances Control Act. The court cited a National Toxicology Program report that suggested there may be a link between high levels of fluoride exposure and lowered IQ.
A CDPHE statement released in October denounced the northern California court ruling. The toxicology report referenced in the ruling suggested possible harm to young children when they are exposed to drinking water containing at least 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter — more than twice the CDPHE recommendation and the fluoride level in the Aspen public water supply.
Aspen Water Department staff recommended that the city take no action in changing the current water treatment processes. Councilman Sam Rose opposed bringing the question back to voters.
“It seems to me, in everything I’ve read, that too much fluoridation is bad, but that the key word is ‘too much,’” Rose said. “It’s been studied time and time again, proving that it’s a major benefit to the community to have fluoridation in your drinking water, but at that recommended level, and I feel like I can’t be clear enough about that.”
During a U.S. Senate hearing of Kennedy’s HHS nomination last week, Kennedy referenced the National Toxicology Program report to bolster his previous claims about the dangers of fluoridated drinking water.
The city’s water treatment chemicals are monitored 24/7, Utilities Process Manager Ryan Loebach told the city council Monday. The water system delivers over one billion gallons of potable water per year to customers from two high-alpine water sources, Maroon and Castle creeks.
City Attorney Jim True said if the city council were to consider putting a question about the fluoridation program on the ballot, it would require a more robust look from the water department at fluoridation reports and studies and further questions from the city council.
Councilman Ward Hauenstein, who is term-limited and cannot seek re-election on March 4, suggested that a future city council take up the question. Councilman John Doyle said he had no interest in putting a fluoride question on the ballot and that he trusted state health department’s guidance.
Mayor Torre said the community fluoridation program “deserves a longer conversation.”
“I do think that it deserves a longer conversation around minimizing the additional fluoride that we add, but as far as eliminating it, I don’t think there’s necessarily that community-wide desire,” he said. “But an advisory vote will tell you exactly where people are thinking about this.”
Original article online at: https://www.aspendailynews.com/news/aspen-council-debates-fluoride-issue-again/article_72977c98-e2d5-11ef-8a0d-23f57734e27d.html