City council not interested in removing fluoride from Fort Myers water

FORT MYERS, Fla. — While other local governments are ditching fluoride, the Fort Myers City Council is not ready to just go with the flow.

The topic of removing fluoride from the city's water was one of the items before the Fort Myers City Council on Tuesday. It was introduced by Councilman Fred Burson after Collier County, Lee County and Naples all made the same decision.

Fort Myers Community Corespondent Stephen Pimpo explains what went in to the council's decision:

“I'm not in favor of leaving it or taking it out. I just wanted to discuss it since these other government agencies have taken that path,” Councilman Burson said.

Environmental Compliance Manager Justin Mahon walked the council through the fluoridation process, explaining that it has been added to the water supply since 1980. Mahon also explained how fluoride occurs naturally in the city's ground water, so it would still be present even if they stopped adding it to the drinking water.

“I think our city staff did a good job of explaining to us what this entails,” said Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson. “It's not like we're just inundating our water system with fluoride.”

Currently, the city adds 0.70 parts per million of fluoride to it's water, the optimal concentration established by the U.S. Public Health Service.

“If the fluoridation is that small of a percent, I would say I'm not sure why we would eliminate it,” said Councilman Liston Bochette.

Current and former dentists spoke during public comment, highlighting fluoride's health benefits, especially for low-income residents.

“The underserved, the less fortunate. These people cannot afford dental care,” said Dr. Bill Truax, who runs Project Dentists Care, a free clinic for low-income patients. “They can't afford to have their teeth cleaned.”

Ultimately, council members had no interest in removing fluoride just because some of their counterparts in Southwest Florida decided to.

The council did not even vote on the item and it is not currently scheduled to be revisited at this time.