A decision on whether fluoride should be in Sarnia-Lambton’s water supply could be made this November.

The Lambton Area Water Supply System (LAWSS) will hold a special meeting in November to debate the issue. Both proponents for and against the chemical additive will be invited to speak. After seven years of debating the issue, it’s time to make a decision, said board chairperson and Warwick Mayor Todd Case. The board decided last October it wanted to hear from Health Canada, which has undertaken a study of fluoride in drinking water before making a decision. That could significantly influence policy, Case said.

“This has been going on a long time,” he said. “We’ve been waiting for this federal statement and it seems to be put off and put off and put off.”

He said the group is eager to resolve the debate but don’t want their decision overturned by a new federal policy resulting from the Health Canada report.

“We could look at it, decide what to do here, and then have it changed on us in the near future,” Case said. However, the issue comes up at most LAWSS meetings and it’s time to move ahead, Case said. Member municipalities need to start deciding their positions on the issue as well. “I want the municipalities that own the system to have the opportunity to come up with their opinion on this item,” he said. “It’s not just up to the people that sit around the board table.”

But Point Edward Mayor Dick Kirkland, long an opponent of fluoridation of the water supply, said moving ahead without the report might be fraught with problems. He said the board should be patient.

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