SNOW HILL — The town is being recognized for adding fluoride to public drinking water. The Worcester County Health Department has issued a certificate of appreciation for the community’s program and the town’s commitment to oral hygiene.

The mayor and council will accept the award at their August meeting tonight.

About 93 percent of public water that serves Maryland residents is fluoridated.

“Fluoride works by strengthening tooth enamel to effectively reduce the risk of cavities,” said Dr. Harry Goodman, director of oral health for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. “Fluoride is a naturally occurring element and is present in all water. The fluoridation of community water supplies is essentially taking the natural level of fluoride already in the water and slightly supplementing it to an optimal tooth decay preventive level.”

However, very little public water is fluoridated in Worcester since none of the county systems add the element. The municipalities, such as Snow Hill, that control their own service areas are the few areas where it is present.

Today’s town meeting is the first since Snow Hill officials voted to move forward with an upgrade of the wastewater treatment plant without expanding the facility. At a public hearing in July, the council approved a 500,000 gallon per day plant that comes with a price tag of more than $14 million. Officials are hoping to find grant money to pay for most, if not all, of the project.

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