Independence, Va.—The Virginia/Carolina Water Authority Board learned last Thursday that the Town of Independence will not be seeking to fluoridate its water supply at this time.

The authority was informed by representatives of the Town of Independence near the end of its regularly scheduled meeting last week.

With that move, a proposal to build a secondary structure in which to feed fluoride into the water supply, at an estimated cost of $40,000, will not be needed. In addition, the Authority agreed to return fluoridation equipment that was purchased via a grant from the Virginia Department of Health.

Cost was cited at an earlier meeting as possibly being prohibitive to the move, which was made necessary after Alleghany County and the Town of Sparta both voted against buying fluoridated water. That vote by the N.C. municipalities required the separation of the fluoridation equipment from the main water treatment plant, which is located just over the state line in Virginia at the end of Moxley Ridge Road.

Independence Town Council met last Tuesday night, Feb. 8,