DEFOREST, Wis. — One community in Dane County will be adding fluoride back to its water, a little more than a year after voting to stop adding it.
Many communities across the country add fluoride to their water to strengthen teeth and prevent cavities. Major health organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, and American Dental Association say community water fluoridation is safe, recommended, and effective.
Longtime DeForest resident Rebecca Witherspoon said evidence shows ingesting too much fluoride is not good for people, and she wants her neighbors in DeForest to be fully aware of that.
“If the public was provided all of the information, both sides, not just one, all the information, let them decide for themselves,” Witherspoon said.
Witherspoon resigned from her position on the DeForest Village Board last fall for personal reasons. She cited malicious online posts against her as a contributing factor. Before resigning, she was one of the village trustees who voted to end adding fluoride to the village’s water. As a result of that vote, DeForest stopped adding fluoride to its water in 2025.
“It came down to a variety of reasons,” Witherspoon said. “One was the scientific evidence that was emerging about the questionable safety.”
Residents who want fluoride in their water took action in the April 7 election. They voted against another former trustee who was anti-fluoride and instead elected two pro-fluoride candidates to the board.
On May 19, the board voted to re-introduce fluoride to the water supply.
“We’re taking care of the people that can’t always take care of themselves,” said Marc Storch, a DeForest resident who supports adding fluoride to the water supply.
He said it’s especially important for those who can’t afford to see a dentist.
“A lot of people can’t afford that,” Storch said. “It isn’t the people that are well off that this is for.”
Spectrum News reached out to DeForest village trustees and leaders. They declined an interview but confirmed re-adding fluoride to the water will cost about $327,000. It could take a year for fluoride to be pumped through all water wells and pipes again.
Storch hopes this is the end of the fluoride fight.
“I would hope we could move on,” he said. “I would hope that we could come together as a community.”
But Witherspoon said it’s not over for her.
Original article online at: https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2026/06/08/deforest-votes-to-add-fluoride-back-to-drinking-water