BELMONT, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Belmont leaders plan to keep fluoride in the city’s water supply.
City council members’ decision Monday came as U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he will assemble a task force to focus on the issue.
Fluoride has been in Belmont’s water supply since 1971, and it’s here to stay. After a long discussion, city council members reluctantly voted to keep adding the mineral to the public water supply.
“I’m here to urge you to stop adding fluoride to our drinking water,” said one woman during the public comment period.
It was a meeting with a lot of back and forth and conflicting opinions.
“I support the continuation of the water fluoridation system in Belmont,” said Dr. David Marsh.
Dr. Marsh lives and practices dentistry in Belmont. He was one of a few people who spoke in favor of fluoridation at Monday’s meeting.
“It’s a naturally occurring mineral that’s in most groundwater,” he said. “In low levels, it has no impact to your overall health. But at extremely low levels, it does have a huge disproportionate impact on the health of your teeth.”
Public works officials brought the proposal to remove fluoride before the council because they said it would save the city money, as well as all them to have more room to store another chemical used to treat water.
Right now, the city only has enough room to store about 2.5 weeks’ worth of water. Removing fluoride would open up space, allowing them to hold about 35 days’ worth.
“If we’re growing at a pace that our water handling system can’t keep up, then we should look at renovating or expanding rather than repurposing,” said Marsh.
The discussion in Belmont is one of many happening nationwide, as concerns about fluoride in public water systems arise.
On Monday, Kennedy told reporters he has plans to tell the CDC to stop recommending fluoridation in communities across the country.
Next month, Utah’s ban will go into effect, making it the first state to ban the mineral in public water.
Closer to home, Union County leaders rejected fluoridation of part of the water supply in May of 2024, and Lincoln County followed months later.