Horicon will soon stop adding fluoride to the city’s water following a decision by the Common Council.
The council on Tuesday voted 5-1 in favor of no longer adding fluoride to the water. Ald. Marie Fenske voted against removing the fluoride.
Mayor Josh Maas said that the decision to remove fluoride from the water supply started in the Department of Public Works committee and was discussed there a few times due to safety concerns for the employees rather than being politically motivated.
“Horicon Utilities will use up our remaining supply of the additive and then when it is gone, no more will be purchased,” Maas said.
Ald. Bryce Remy said that he is proud of how the council listened to residents.
“I had two households reach out about keeping fluoride, and 47 ask to remove it,” Remy said.
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“Fluoride is currently a hot political topic, and the reason I voted to remove it was not a right or left issue. It comes down to us having naturally occurring fluoride in our water, so it will not be fully removed. We will not be dosing it extra though. Had there been no naturally occurring fluoride in our water, I would have voted against removing it. I feel this is a bit of a compromise.”
Community water fluoridation started in 1945 and has resulted in a dramatic decline in cavities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I worked hard to understand the views on fluoride but for me personally, it is recommended by most public health, medical and dental organizations including the American Dental Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and U.S. Public Health Service,” Fenske said. “I spoke to several dentists and doctors in the area, and they all spoke to the benefits of fluoride. My own children’s pediatrician also said fluoride is safe and beneficial in water. That is enough for me to see the value in it.”
Fenske said that although the oral health in the nation has improved over the decades, children and families in lower-income households are still disproportionately affected.
“Water fluoridation is still the most effective and practical method for reducing the gap in decay rates between low-income and upper-income Americans,” Fenske said, citing information from the American Dental Association. “The poverty rate in Horicon is 12.8%, which is 1 out of 8 people in Horicon.”
Fenske said there are only two Dodge County dentists who accept Medicaid, and only one is accepting new patients, and both have a long waiting list.
“I do believe handling fluoride in it’s pure and undiluted form requires knowledge and personal protective equipment and that if the Department of Public Works doesn’t have to handle it, it is of course safer for the employees that work there,” Fenske said. “I believe that to be the main reason the Department of Public Works wanted to remove it, along with the belief that because we have approximately .35 mg naturally occurring fluoride, that would be sufficient enough.”
Remy said that he values the city’s employees as well and felt the vote favored the safety concerns that were being brought up by the Department of Public Works.
“We could have also opted for a building that would mitigate the risks of how we are storing it,” Remy said. “However, we are dealing with the consequences of having former DPW leadership & former council members that fought to kick the can down the road instead of address it. That’s not just on fluoride, that has been on everything from playgrounds to the wastewater treatment plant and some of our city employee salaries.”
Original article online at: https://wiscnews.com/news/community/bdc/article_65107534-f563-11ef-8292-b36e384cd183.html