Laredo City Council tables fluoride plan, citing adequate levels

A request by District III Councilmember Melissa Cigarroa to add fluoride to the city’s public drinking water was discussed but ultimately tabled for a future meeting.

Cigarroa proposed adding fluoride to the city’s drinking water to improve dental hygiene for children and adults. A presentation by city of Laredo Water Utilities Director Tareq Al-Zabet showed that natural fluoride from the Rio Grande is already present in the water at or near the recommended level of 0.7 parts per million, according to the U.S. Public Health Service. The city’s water naturally contains about 0.6 or 0.7 parts per million.

According to Al-Zabet’s presentation, fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in water, soil and certain foods. It comes from the natural erosion of rocks, groundwater and surface water.

Al-Zabet said that if fluoride were added to the city’s public drinking water, it would cost between $300,000 and $400,000 a year to reach the USPHS-recommended level of 0.7 parts per million.

However, he recommended not approving the request and instead focusing the Utilities Department’s efforts on water quality, including smell and taste.

Al-Zabet’s presentation ultimately led to the item being tabled for a vote at a future City Council meeting.

A handful of public comments reflected concern about the city’s drinking water issues, including eight boil water notices over the past five years.

Most public comments expressed concerns that approving fluoridation could discourage public trust and be seen as mass medication, since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration classifies fluoride as a drug.

Some residents said the issue should be put to a vote if the council remained firm on the decision, while others expressed relief that the utilities director did not recommend adding more fluoride, as the city already meets the standard.

Webb County Republican Chair Jose Salazar said it was “a very enlightening presentation by the utilities director.”

“In a time where we’re trying not to give more chemicals to our kids and try to go more natural, Councilmember Cigarroa wanted to do the opposite and go against the grain by adding fluoride to our water,” Salazar said. “Thanks to the utilities director, it showed we were at the level we’re supposed to be at, and it should’ve been researched a little more before the item was brought up.”

Kobby Bryand, president of Webb County Young Republicans, voiced the same concern as Salazar but focused more on public trust and added, “The trust of our citizens is paramount and any action that raises concerns could jeopardize that trust.”

“Having observed how this council has previously invested our tax money in the water plant, it is only natural for the public to be cautious,” Bryand said. “We cannot afford to repeat past mistakes.”

Cigarroa expected some pushback on her item but believed she was trying to do something valuable for children’s and families’ dental hygiene. Rather than being misinformed, she admitted she had not looked deeply enough into her research to realize the utilities department was already measuring fluoride levels.

She brought up the item after former interim Utilities Director Walter “Buzz” Pishkur informed her that the utilities department does not add fluoride to the public water supply. However, Cigarroa said she failed to find the data on her own and was not notified of the existing fluoride measurements.

“There is already natural fluoride. I did not realize the city was already measuring it,” Cigarroa said. “People were saying ‘well, we shouldn’t spend money on fluoride in the water,’ but if you’re not testing it, we don’t also want a lot of fluoride in the water, and right now it is at the perfect amount.”

According to Cigarroa, she wants the public to know that Laredo’s water from its treatment plants is of the highest quality. However, concerns arise in the distribution system, where problems have stemmed from infrastructure issues such as the faulty backflow preventer or water line break in October 2024.

Cigarroa said she believes the discussion helps put some issues in the rearview mirror and will not detract or distract the city’s utilities department, which remains focused on providing clean water for residents.

“I thought it was a worthwhile objective, but I think it’s better that people know with a better understanding, and maybe we can decrease the fear of it all,” Cigarroa said. “I think the utilities department deserves more credit because there are a lot of other issues with getting clean water, and they’re doing a great job of providing safe drinking water. It is very reassuring they’re working on it.”

Original article online at: https://www.lmtonline.com/local/article/laredo-fluoride-water-tabled-cigarroa-natural-20823583.php