RIDGELAND — City officials will schedule a public hearing as they consider removing fluoride from the city’s drinking water.
Following a unanimous vote, aldermen directed Alan Hart, director of the Public Works Department, to announce a 30-day comment period and to schedule a public hearing.
The motion was made by Ward 6 Alderman Wesley Hamlin and seconded by Alderman-at-Large D.I. Smith. The motion passed with a 7-0 vote after a substitute motion presented by Ward 1 Alderman Ken Heard to restore the city’s water fluoridation treatment program that has been dormant since the COVID-19 pandemic failed to get a second.
Heard clarified that he appreciated the transparency of the process.
Mayor Gene F. McGee said the board still has plenty of opportunities to further research the issue and could decide to continue treating the water with fluoride.
“It is important that the board goes through the process,” McGee said.
The city began the fact-finding process in December.
This second step comes after representatives of the Mississippi State Department of Health gave aldermen a presentation regarding treatment during their June 16 meeting. McGee stressed that the presentation, though open to the public, was not a public hearing and was the first step in the state-required fact-finding process.
Karen Walters, deputy director of the Bureau of Public Water Supply, and Brad Bryan, dental director for the Mississippi Department of Oral Health, presented the board with information on the benefits of fluoridating the city’s water supply and answered questions.
MDHS says fluoride is added to public drinking water sources to prevent tooth decay.
Bryan said he “fiercely” believes in the efficacy of fluoride. He specifically said it “keeps children in school” as it reduces unnecessary dental visits. He presented the board with a packet he said contained a “strongly worded set of facts” touting the benefits of treating the public water supply with the chemical.
Smith asked Walters how many water systems in the state treat their water with fluoride. Walters said only about 200 of the 1,200 water suppliers treat their water with the chemical.
Hamlin noted that many toothpastes contain fluoride and carry warnings not to swallow them due to concerns about excessive fluoride intake.
Walters said the average person would have to swallow multiple gallons of water in a day to risk overexposure to the chemical. She said overexposure to fluoride could lead to discoloration of the teeth and could have a negative effect on a person’s bones.
Smith said he was concerned with the implications of the city mandating a “medication for everyone.”
That sentiment was echoed by Ward 2 Alderman Chuck Gautier, who said he does not feel qualified to make medical decisions for the residents of Ridgeland.
“I am not qualified to dispense medicine as an alderman,” Gautier said.
Hart and McGee said fluoride became difficult to procure due to complications related to the shutdowns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and the city has not been able to treat the city’s water supply with fluoride for over three years now. McGee said he knows Ridgeland is not the only city in the area that has had an issue procuring the chemical.
Walters said both the cities of Richland and Brandon are at various stages of the same fact-finding process Ridgeland is undergoing.
McGee said the city is still having trouble procuring the chemical, and part of this fact-finding mission is assessing the cost of resuming administration of the chemical as it becomes available.
If the city decides to continue treating its water with fluoride, McGee said their system will need more than $200,000 in upgrades. He said the city would also face an additional yearly cost of implementing the chemicals and maintaining the system. Current estimated yearly costs for the system could be between $60,000 and $100,000.
Ridgeland claims to be in the “top five percent” of water systems in Mississippi. The city serves about 24,000 customers with water. Ridgeland’s water source comes from deep-water supply wells in the Cockfield and Sparta aquifers.
Walters noted that a review of the city’s drinking water, conducted in 2025, returned a perfect score.
Original article online at: https://www.onlinemadison.com/news/health-officials-tout-benefits-as-ridgeland-debates-future-of-water-fluoridation-2aacf472/