Throughout Florida, cities have temporarily removed fluoride from their drinking water because of Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo’s concerns about the health risks. Here’s where Treasure Coast utilities stand on the issue:
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INDIAN RIVER COUNTY
Fluoride, unincorporated Indian River County
Indian River County Utilities did not respond to TCPalm’s request for comment.
Fluoride, Vero Beach
Vero Beach is waiting for city staff to recommend whether to continue adding fluoride to drinking water.
Fluoride, Fellsmere
The city has not responded to TCPalm’s request for comment.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
Fluoride, unincorporated St. Lucie County
St. Lucie County buys its drinking water from Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, which adds fluoride.
FPUA is still evaluating the situation and “may pursue an alteration to this policy in the coming months,” said spokesperson Rachel Tennant. “Our water-treatment specialists are following recent reports and expert opinions to help inform this evaluation.”
Fluoride, Port St. Lucie
Port St. Lucie on Wednesday announced it temporarily stopped adding fluoride to its drinking water on Dec. 13.
“Our top priority is to provide our customers with the safest and highest-quality product possible,” Port St. Lucie Utility Systems Department spokesperson Kevin Matyjaszek said in a prepared statement. “Given recent concerns, we felt it was in our customers’ best interest to temporarily halt adding fluoride to our water until more information is available.”
Fluoride, Fort Pierce
The Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, which adds fluoride to its drinking water, is still evaluating the situation and “may pursue an alteration to this policy in the coming months,” said spokesperson Rachel Tennant. “Our water-treatment specialists are following recent reports and expert opinions to help inform this evaluation.”
Fluoride, St. Lucie West
The St. Lucie West Services District announced Dec. 3 that it immediately stopped adding fluoride to its drinking water.
MARTIN COUNTY
Fluoride, unincorporated Martin County
Martin County Utilities does not add fluoride to its drinking water.
Fluoride, Stuart
Stuart temporarily stopped adding fluoride to its drinking water on Dec. 4. In a 2008 referendum, voters decided they wanted fluoride added to their drinking water.
Fluoride, Indiantown
Indiantown does not add fluoride to its drinking water.
Fluoride, Sewall’s Point
Sewall’s Point gets its drinking water from Martin County, which does not add fluoride to drinking water.
Fluoride, Hobe Sound and Town of Jupiter Island
The South Martin Regional Utility, which serves Hobe Sound and the Town of Jupiter Island, does not add fluoride to its drinking water.
Original article online at: https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/2024/12/20/fluoride-water-in-port-st-lucie-fort-pierce-vero-beach-sebastian-florida/77084232007/