A DeForest resident has filed a motion in Dane County Circuit court in an effort to temporarily prevent the village from restoring fluoride into the public water system.
Court documents show that Bernard Coxhead filed the motion on Feb. 4. It asks for a court injunction “prohibiting the village of DeForest from taking any further action to reintroduce fluoride” into the water system until a federal reassessment of fluoride’s health risks can be completed.
The suit also seeks a temporary restraining order preventing the village from taking any further steps or spending any other funds in an effort to restore fluoride.
In a letter to the court, Coxhead argues that the “plaintiff will suffer irreparable harm absent immediate relief” with fluoride in the public water.
The motion also argues that the village’s water system had been safe without fluoride added.
Last year, the DeForest village board voted to remove fluoride from the public water system. The controversial vote drew sharp criticism, and was partially the catalyst for a recall movement that successfully replaced one village trustee.
In January, the village board revisited the decision and voted to explore the necessary steps to reintroduce fluoride. Previously, fluoride was added only to the northern part of the water system, but with the reintroduction, the village would be required to include it in the entire system.
Improvements to the wells, along with new storage facilities would then be needed, and staff had estimated the costs at between $205,000 and $245,000 but were seeking more concrete estimates.
Some of the trustees at the January meeting urged staff to explore a system that could allow residents to opt out of fluoridated water.
Original article online at: https://www.hngnews.com/the_star/local_news/lawsuit-seeks-to-keep-fluoride-out-of-deforest-water/article_e3b935c9-3d8c-4029-bb83-3a530d7e5344.html