The battle over fluoride in Salina’s water system continues.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Salina-Saline County Health Department board voted unanimously to support the continued use of fluoride in the city’s water system.

Dr. John Adams, the dental expert for the health department, spoke out in favor of keeping fluoride in the city’s water supply saying it has more health benefits than drawbacks.

Fluoride has been included in the city’s water supply since 1968.

Nearly a decade after the public had first voted against adding fluoride to the city’s water since 2011, the city has included point 7 to 1.2 parts per million of fluoride in the water system which is on-par with what the Kansas Department of Health states as an ideal level.

While the anti-fluoride group, Salina Cares, has spoken out against fluoride being included in the water supply, Adams says no studies have documented any negative health effects on those who choose to drink it.

“Thousands of communities have fluoride, hundreds of thousands of people have been drinking fluoridated water since the 1940s, and there has been no significant studies that have linked any kind of condition or medical disease with drinking adequately and properly fluoridated water.”

Last month, Mayor Barb Shirley tentatively called for a town hall meeting to be held to discuss the use of fluoride in the water system.

As for now, there is no set date on when that meeting will take place.

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