Water was one of this month’s themes in the decisions and events that occurred in and around the Seaway City.

Around the Cornwall city council table, members sat through two presentations they’d ordered up in March on the question of re-introducing fluoride into the municipal water supply.

The addition of hydrofluorosilicic acid (HFSA) had been stopped several years earlier due to a malfunctioning piece of equipment at the city’s water treatment plant. Without that equipment, staff members could not safely add HSFA to the water in order to create a low level of fluoride and the practice was stopped.

First to speak to council was American toxicologist and anti-fluoride crusader Paul Connett, who warned council that resuming fluoridation could lead to all sorts of physical ills in those drinking the water. He also urged council to respect its residents’ choice as to how they fluoridate rather than force it upon all those using municipal water.

Several weeks later, council heard from Eastern Ontario Health Unit medical officer of health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis and Canada’s chief dental officer Dr. Peter Cooney on the benefits of fluoridation. Both pointed to how having the mineral in the water supply improves dental health among those who don’t otherwise have access to a dentist.

The decision on the question was left for a council meeting later in the year…

Another water-themed occurrence? The St. Lawrence River Institute for Environmental Science announced near the month’s end that it had secured a $25,300 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to expand its series of Great St. Lawrence River Cleanups…

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