- The New Smyrna Beach Utilities Commission voted Feb. 24 to stop water fluoridation in the city’s water supply.
- NSB joins several Florida cities in adopting the measure since Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo’s advice in November 2024.
- NSBU Chair James Davenport cited operational costs and residents’ concerns as factors in his vote to discontinue water fluoridation in the city’s water supply.
Following the lead from several Florida cities, New Smyrna Beach is the latest municipality to remove fluoride from its water supply.
The New Smyrna Beach Utilities Commission last week voted unanimously to accept staff’s recommendation against renewing the agency’s water fluoridation operation, citing high equipment replacement and labor costs.
In Volusia County, New Smyrna joins Ormond Beach, whose City Commission voted in January to stop water fluoridation. Melbourne, Naples, Tavares, Stuart and Port St. Lucie are some of the other cities that have done the same.
In November, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo called the continued use of fluoride in community water supplies “public health malpractice” and urged Florida cities to stop fluoridation.
Ladapo’s guidance is based on a recent report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicity Program. It analyzed several non-U.S. studies that concluded with “moderate confidence” that associated higher levels of fluoride with lower IQ in children.
Several medical groups, including the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, stand by fluoridation’s effectiveness in preventing tooth decay in children and adults. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the practice is one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the last century.
New Smyrna Beach started water fluoridation in May 1984, with levels at .66 milligrams per liter, according to NSB Utilities spokeswoman Ellen Fisher. The U.S. Public Health Service recommends public water systems contain a fluoride level of .7 milligrams per liter of water. The World Health Organization’s recommended limit for fluoride in drinking water in 1.5 milligrams per liter.
Operational costs, residents’ concerns part of decision
In a Facebook post announcing the decision, the Utilities Commission said that “numerous operational factors were considered and led up to staff’s recommendation for the elimination.”
“The Fluoride feed equipment is at end of life and would require considerable reinvestment for continuance, no longer operational, and the equipment replacement costs can reach approximately $500,000,” the post said.
Labor and testing costs amount to $5,000 a year, the commission added.
“In addition, there are continuing fluoride supply challenges as it is an imported chemical (sodium silica fluoride) with increasing costs of approximately $32,000 a year.”
During the commission’s Feb. 24 meeting, New Smyrna Beach Utilities Commission Chair James Davenport mentioned that he had heard from residents with “public safety” concerns related to water fluoridation, referring to the potential neurological issues raised by the surgeon general the previous month.
“I’m speaking for me and other people I have talked to … . I spoke to people who are concerned about the fluoride in the water, but not just due to operational drives but concerns for public safety,” Davenport said.
New Smyrna Beach Utilities General Manager and CEO Efren Chavez said staff members’ decision to base their recommendation on operational costs was to avoid favoring “one side or the other.”
“We know there (are) parties on both sides of this issue,” Chavez said at the meeting. “To remove us from taking a side one way or the other, we stuck to the operational standpoints.”
In an emailed statement to The News-Journal, Davenport said he considered both staff’s recommendation and residents’ concerns when making the decision.
“Based on staff’s operational recommendations and feedback received from the local community voicing their concern about fluoridated water, I, along with the other Commissioners, voted to remove fluoride from NSBU’s water supply,” Davenport wrote.
Original article online at: https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2025/03/07/nsb-latest-florida-city-to-remove-fluoride-from-water-supply/81647523007/