- A recent survey of central Wisconsin municipalities shows a decline in water fluoridation.
- Conflicting information, including a recent study suggesting a link between fluoride and lower IQs in children, fuels debate.
- While some municipalities have stopped adding fluoride, others like Wisconsin Rapids and Plover recently decided to continue.
With online reports, legal rulings and unclear guidelines from the United States government sending mixed signals about fluoride, local communities are all over the board on whether to fluoridate their own water supplies.
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin sent surveys to about 40 municipalities in central Wisconsin asking questions about whether they add fluoride to their public water supply, if they have made recent changes to fluoridation of their municipal water supply and if there is any ongoing discussion within their community about changes to fluoridation of the water supply. Eighteen municipalities responded to the survey, which revealed the number of municipalities adding fluoride to their water supply is slowly going down.
Of the 18 surveys returned, eight of the municipalities do not currently add fluoride to their water including the town of Rome and villages of Amherst, Biron, Necedah, Stetsonville, Stratford, Vesper and Wittenberg. Biron and Rome stopped adding fluoride to their water in 2024, and Vesper stopped in 2023. Amherst, Necedah Stetsonville, Stratford and Wittenberg have never added fluoride to their public water supplies, according to the survey responses.
Marshfield, Wisconsin Rapids and the villages of Kronenwetter and Plover all have had recent discussions about stopping the addition of fluoride to their water supplies, and the city of Marshfield says it is monitoring the situation.
‘There’s so much information that you don’t know what is true’
There are two camps when it comes to fluoride in municipal water systems, said Wisconsin Rapids Mayor Matt Zacher. One camp is entrenched with the importance of fluoride in municipal water. People who have gone to school and become dentists, doctors, nurses and similar professions have gotten the same information about the importance of fluoride in water, Zacher said.
The second camp has gotten their information from the web, Zacher said.
“There’s so much information that you don’t know what is true or not true,” Zacher said.
A study was released in August 2024 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Toxicology Program. The study includes a disclaimer that no decision regarding adding fluoride to water should be made based on the study, but indicates drinking water with fluoride added could be associated with lower IQs in children. None of the children studied were living in the United States.
It’s hard to say for sure that a child who grew up with fluoride in their water has an IQ that was lower or higher because of the fluoride, Zacher said.
“Fluoride is naturally in the water and what we do in our municipality is regulate it so it’s at a certain amount rather than too much or too little,” Zacher said.
After about a months-long discussion earlier this year, the Wisconsin Rapids City Council decided by a 6-2 vote Feb. 18 to continue adding fluoride to its municipal water supply.
The village of Plover also recently decided to continue adding fluoride to its water after discussions earlier this year. The village had requests from some residents to stop fluoridating the water, said Steve Kunst, Plover administrator. Kunst said it wasn’t a difficult decision. The water utility looked at the issue objectively and made the decision.
The village sent out a survey to residents, Kunst said. The village received 70 responses to the survey, with 60% of respondents wanting to continue with fluoride in the municipal water supply.
Conflicting information about fluoride creates challenges for municipal leaders
Conflicting information about any topic creates challenges in determining the best course of action, said Nicolas Kumm, Marshfield Utilities general manager. Marshfield Utilities closely monitors developments related to fluoride at the national and industry levels through organizations such as the American Water Works Association, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Dental Association, World Health Organization and other relevant sources, he said.
There has been very limited outreach by Marshfield residents to the city concerning fluoride levels, Kumm said.
William Switalla, village president for Wittenberg, which has never added fluoride to its municipal water supply, said he hasn’t heard of any residents asking about adding fluoride to their water. There is a limited amount of things municipalities are allowed to put into water, he said. Wittenberg adds only what it needs in order to give residents good water, he said.
Stevens Point Public Utilities did not respond to the survey sent by USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, however, the Stevens Point Board of Water and Sewage Commissioners discussed fluoride in the city’s water during its May 12 meeting, according to minutes published online from the meeting.
Joel Lemke, public utilities director, said the city isn’t required to put fluoride in the water, but it is something it does as a community. It needs to be a community decision to stop it, he said.
Stevens Point began fluoridating its water in the 1950s, Lemke said. In the middle to late 1970s, the city stopped the practice following a referendum. The Stevens Point City Council made the decision to start adding fluoride again, Lemke said.
Lemke said in the May 12 meeting that the city should wait and see what state or federal requirements are put in place to make any decision to stop adding fluoride to water, according to the online minutes.
There are a lot of opinions on fluoride in water, Zacher said.
“The fact is, after 70 years, our teeth are stronger and they can prove it,” he said.
Original article online at: https://www.marshfieldnewsherald.com/story/news/health/2025/06/26/unclear-guidelines-and-conflicting-research-fuel-central-wisconsins-fluoride-debate/83922068007/