- The Cocoa City Council voted 4-1 to resume adding fluoride to its drinking water.
- The city stopped adding fluoride two years ago when equipment failed.
- The decision comes despite a recent recommendation from Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo against community water fluoridation.
Cocoa plans to once again add fluoride to its drinking water, bucking a statewide trend of cities toeing the line on a new Florida recommendation to discontinue the practice.
By a 4-to-1 vote Tuesday night, City Council decided to move ahead with plans to replace equipment that stopped infusing fluoride into the water system about two years ago, when fluoridation equipment “reached the end of its useful life.”
Councilwoman Lorraine Koss dissented.
“We now have a lot of topical options that don’t force us to ingest this and risk accumulating those toxins,” Koss said of fluoride, citing concerns about the chemical’s effects on post-menopausal women with bone issues. She wanted the decision delayed until the federal government comes up with an optimal dosage — a matter of ongoing scientific debate.
Cocoa stopped adding fluoride a few years ago
Turns out, Cocoa hadn’t been adding fluoride for the past two years, anyway, after equipment involved in doing so failed. Few may have noticed.
Despite not adding fluoride, trace amounts of the chemical already are naturally occurring in the ground water that is about a third of Cocoa’s water supply. But the current levels in the city’s water are nowhere near what some newer science suggests could harm a child’s intelligence or cause other neurological problems.
By once again adding fluoride, the city would increase the chemical from the naturally occurring range of 0.13 to 0.19 milligrams per liter (mg/L) to about 0.5 mg/L, city officials said. Federal officials recommend 0.7 mg/L or less to prevent any possible neurological effects on children, but that level is still being scientifically debated.
Despite ongoing debate over what’s safe, Mayor Michael Blake urged the Council Tuesday to “take a stance,” adding that he grew up drinking the city’s water.
“I’m living proof,” Blake said. “Our kids and our grandkids drink this water … “I’d rather err on the side of helping someone than not helping someone.”
About a dozen speakers weighed in on the issue before Tuesday vote, most in favor of resuming fluoride but several against doing so.
It will cost Cocoa an estimated $700,000 to restart fluoridation, and $65,000 per year for a chemical that’s become a political and scientific hot button, especially in Florida. But it will likely be months before water customers can expect additional fluoride in the city’s water, Samantha Senger, the city’s spokeswoman, said via email. “It is more than just the equipment for the fluoride that is getting done,” she added. “That is one piece of the project.”
Cocoa pumps drinking water to some 300,000 people in Brevard County and east Orange County.
Florida health officials recommend stopping fluoridation?
Pros and cons of fluoridation: How do I know if my city water has fluoride in Florida? Cities that do, don’t fluoridate
Cocoa was considering not resuming fluoride treatment because of a recent recommendation from Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladado.
In November, Ladapo announced guidance recommending against community water fluoridation, saying there was a potential neuropsychiatric risk associated with fluoride exposure. The American Dental Association pushed back hard against Lapado’s statements.
Melbourne and Palm Bay recently decided to stop adding fluoride. Titusville is considering the same.
Original article online at: https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/2025/03/19/cocoa-plans-to-resume-adding-fluoride-to-tap-water/82513847007/