The Village of Marshall will halt using fluoride as an additive in its drinking water following a unanimous 7-0 vote to do so at the village board’s Tuesday, July 7 meeting.
Up until now, the village has been pumping over 200 gallons of fluoride into its drinking water annually. Staff also have been tracking residual levels of the chemical additive through daily water sampling up until this point.
Fluoride prevents tooth decay and protects against cavities, specifically, according to the American Dental Association. The benefits are particularly helpful for minors under the age of 12 who may not engage with healthy dental practices.
While fluoride is typically added to drinking water in the form of chemical compounds, such as sodium fluoride, it is also found naturally within groundwater and oceans in the form of a mineral.
The board’s discussion to halt fluoride pumping came about after village staff discovered a potentially hazardous situation related to the way it was being stored alongside another additive, chlorine.
“Right now, the Village has two well houses where fluoride and chlorine are housed in the same chemical feed room. If these two chemicals mix, they will form a deadly gas that can be lethal in minutes,” Director of Public Works Matt Pitzer said in a memo to the board on July 9.
Chlorine is a required drinking water additive, as its disinfectant properties help control bacteria levels, while fluoride is not. Village Administrator noted that the City of Columbus has removed fluoride, and Pitzer added that the City of Waterloo has also done the same.
Pitzer further explained that the situation was not only concerning for staff’s safety but, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources would likely require the village to remedy the situation if it were to make the same discovery.
The public works director estimated that having to construct new chemical feed rooms with secondary containment could cost the village tens of thousands of dollars.
He also added that forgoing purchases of the chemical, and in turn its corrosive effect on well house equipment, could lead to over $5,000 in annual savings.
The potential savings, and the problems posed by the village’s current storage methods, were what eventually led the board to agreeing with Pitzer’s recommendation to put the additive on hold going forward.
Original article online at: https://www.hngnews.com/waterloo_marshall/news/government/village-of-marshall-to-remove-fluoride-from-drinking-water/article_4b8563fc-4df4-11ef-be84-e3595cc74b18.html