Lake City to stop adding fluoride to city water

Changes in state fluoride level recommendations prompted Lake City officials to ask the City Council to authorize ending the program that added the mineral to the town’s drinking water supply.
Communities around the country have added fluoride to drinking water for decades, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recommended a level of 0.7 milligrams per liter of fluoride in drinking water, a level health professionals say prevents tooth decay.
Lake City’s water has a naturally occurring fluoride level of 0.45 to 0.5 milligrams per liter, City Administrator Lee Vogt said. So when state officials dropped their recommended level from above 1.0 milligrams per liter to the nationally recommended level of 0.7 milligrams per liter, city officials began considering the cost of replacing the old equipment with equipment that could deliver the lower amount of fluoride.
“There’s been a lot of controversy” about adding fluoride to water, Vogt said. “With there being that amount of fluoride (state officials) were OK with not adding (it to city water).” 
Read more in the July 8 edition.