WILMINGTON, Ohio — The Wilmington City Council’s Public Works Enterprise Committee may recommend that the council remove fluoride from the city’s drinking water following a March 9 special meeting.
Water Superintendent Adam Simpson said the city is not required to add fluoride due to a 1970s referendum that granted an exemption, but the chemical is currently included in the city’s approved water treatment plan. According to Simpson, the city cannot discontinue the practice without approval from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“Our feed is currently voluntary,” Simpson said. “The council instructed the water department to go ahead and begin adding it, and it is part of our approved plan.”
Simpson noted the exemption has not been rescinded and technically still stands.
During an April 2025 public workshop, then-Council President Matt Purkey said fluoridation began in Wilmington in 2020 under an Ohio EPA-approved plan following water plant upgrades. A 2016 nonbinding referendum showed a majority of voters supported adding fluoride, with the measure passing 56% to 44%.
“There is no community in Ohio that has been known to stop feeding fluoride, but there is no reason that we could not try to make that change if the council wanted us to do so,” Simpson said.
Public Works Enterprise Committee Chair Kelly Tolliver said he is “really looking at the nuts and bolts and where we sit currently.” He asked Simpson to outline how the city’s water department handles fluoride and whether existing equipment could be repurposed if policies change.
Simpson said employees use protective gear such as gloves, goggles and aprons when handling fluoride and added that the system is similar to the equipment used to feed chemicals for corrosion control.
“The equipment could always be repurposed to go ahead and feed that other chemical, but as of right now, we have to continue to use it for its intended purpose,” he said.
Simpson later explained that the chemical used for corrosion control is an orthophosphate, which helps protect plumbing from leaching lead into the water.
“With EPA approval, it would likely be able to be fed through the existing fluoride system,” he said, adding that both systems operate in the same way, with similar components, pump sizes and dosing.
Service Director Mike Crowe said he does not support adding fluoride to the water supply.
“I don’t believe our water should be medicated,” Crowe said. “If you want fluoride, you can get it in toothpaste. You can get it in mouthwash. You can get it over the counter in several different ways. But if you put it in your water, you have no choice. I don’t like not having a choice.”
Simpson said fluoride naturally occurs in the water at about 0.2 milligrams per liter and is increased to about 1 milligram per liter as part of the city’s treatment process.
Tolliver said he agrees with the concerns raised by Crowe and questioned whether the city should continue adding fluoride to the water supply.
“I don’t think that we should force medication on people ever in this country, and for some reason we are,” Tolliver said. “I think it would be the right move to stop forcing this medication on the public.”
He also pointed to potential cost savings if the city were to repurpose the fluoride equipment.
“I also see financial savings that, as a taxpayer, I would appreciate if we were able to repurpose some of the equipment,” Tolliver said.
Tolliver said the committee should recommend that council consider removing fluoride from the city’s water supply.
“I personally wouldn’t shy away from the decision to be the leader in Ohio of taking it out first. I think maybe we’d be leading other communities in the right direction,” Tolliver said.
Public Works Enterprise Committee members Dennis Gherman and Jamie Knowles agreed to bring the recommendation forward to council.
Clerk of Council Annen Vance suggested submitting an official request to Deputy Law Director Brooke Horan to review the issue and outline potential next steps.
Original article online at: https://www.wnewsj.com/2026/03/19/wilmington-committee-considers-removing-fluoride-from-city-water/