MADISON, Ala. (WHNT) — Residents packed out the Madison Utilities Board hearing Tuesday that looked at the board’s decision to end adding fluoride to city water.
While many residents questioned the decision and said they support keeping fluoride in Madison’s water, the board said the process has caused facility damage over time that now needs to be fixed, and that it has concerns about doing those repairs due to a national conversation about water fluoridation.
News 19 Peyton Newman toured Madison Utilities’ water treatment facility Tuesday ahead of the meeting and saw some of the damage the department says was caused by using hydrofluorosilic acid to add fluoride to the city’s water.
The utility said that concrete has been damaged, pipes and ceiling panels have rusted, and the structure of its Keene Water Treatment Facility has been damaged. The water utility said its decision back in March to stop fluoridating the water in June came from that damage and what it called ‘safety concerns’ for employees handling the substance.
“Given the ongoing national reassessment of fluoride as a public utility in public water, any such expenditure would be wasted if a ban on fluoride occurs,” Madison Utilities Attorney Woody Sanderson said during the meeting.
The CDC currently suggests that water systems add a fluoride dosage of 0.7 ppm to promote dental health. The Alabama Department of Public Health told News 19 last week that water systems in Alabama have used regulated levels of fluoride for over 70 years, and that it is a safe and effective way to decrease the number of cavities in a community, especially in children.
However, last month, Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. instructed the CDC to work to revise its recommendations according to reporting by NPR. Kennedy has previously opposed adding fluoride to public drinking water.
Yet, the board decision has sparked a fire in the community.
Over a dozen people spoke at the public hearing to have their opinions on the issue heard. A majority of speakers disagreed with the water board’s decision to stop fluoridation and questioned the company’s reasoning.
“There’s 60,000 people in Madison, over 15% of which are children,” one resident said. “That’s 2250 children who will get cavities who would not otherwise get cavities. That is $450,000 in costs that will be borne by the parents.”
Another resident wondered how Madison was different than any other city in North Alabama.
“North Alabama communities routinely fluoridate their water,” the resident said. “Every city’s needs and systems are unique, but the board has not made it clear why they think our methods pose an excessive threat to employees.”
With every speaker circling back to the same idea, calling for more transparency from the utility company, and wishing the public was more involved with the decision-making process.
“Because you are a public utility, you may not be paid by tax dollars, but you serve the taxpayer,” one speaker said.
No decision was made at the meeting on Tuesday, but the decision to stop fluoridation can only be made by the water board and cannot be made by the city council or citizens, according to Alabama law.
It’s not clear when or if the board will vote on the issue again, but as it stands, the utility will stop adding fluoride on June 16
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