ECUA pulling plug on fluoride in public water after Florida ban. But it won’t be immediate

• ECUA will soon stop putting fluoride in public water supplies
• 750 gallons of fluoride a week is currently being used in Escambia County drinking water
• Removing fluoride will save ECUA about $340,000 a year

After nearly 30 years of adding fluoride to Escambia County’s public drinking water, the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority will soon stop.

The move comes after state legislators passed a bill that effectively bans governments from adding fluoride to public water supplies.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he intends to sign the bill, and once it becomes law it will go into effect July 1, making Florida the second state in the United States to ban it.

ECUA Board Member Vicki Campbell says the utility has been ordering less fluoride in anticipation of the new legislation.

She says they have about five weeks worth of fluoride left, which they intend to put in the drinking water because otherwise the chemical requires an expensive disposal process.

Once it’s gone, ECUA will not order more of the product.

Campbell says the utility company uses about 750 gallons of fluoride a week in public drinking water at a cost of about $340,000 a year.

ECUA says about $190,000 of that number is the cost of the chemical itself. The remaining cost is in operations, including pump and tank maintenance and occasional replacement, as well as equipment and fuel for delivery to the wells each month.

That money will now be spent on the granular, active carbon filters used to remove PFOA’s and PFAS in the water.

Carbon filters are installed on local wells to clean pollution. ECUA won a bellwether lawsuit in 2023 against 3M and other companies that sold products with cancer causing chemicals like PFOA and PFOS, which made their way into the water supply.

Money ECUA received from the lawsuit is being used to pay for and maintain the expensive filtration system and the money previously spent on fluoride will help cover some of those costs.

Campbell says ECUA had intended to put the issue of keeping fluoride in water supplies back on the ballot in response to the revived debate, but now that won’t be necessary.  

Voters approved fluoride in 1998: 58% of Escambia voted to add fluoride to water in 1998, and could be asked again

When nearly 60% of Escambia County voters approved adding fluoride to drinking water in 1998, Campbell says ECUA was lauded by the Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency for a decision that was then considered “the best thing we did for public health in a hundred years.”

“Times change,” Campbell said. “There’s now fluoride in toothpaste. There’s fluoride in rinses, and it’s more readily available to the public, so I understand. My only worry about it is the elderly and the poor population. We’re going to follow the law, but it’s interesting times.”

Why stop putting fluoride in water?

In his support of signing the bill, DeSantis said fluoride in public water is “forced medication” and he brought up studies he said pointed to physical and mental health risks associated with overexposure to fluoride.

The Florida Dental Association previously issued a statement about the subject, calling the reports “flawed and unscientific.”

The U.S. began adding fluoride to its water supply around 80 years ago as a way to prevent tooth decay. Like water and oxygen, too much of anything can have repercussions. Overexposure to fluoride does have some minor risks, like slight teeth discoloration.

At the right amounts, fluoride strengthens teeth by hardening the outer enamel. This protects it from acid attacks from bacteria and ultimately prevents cavities, according to Johns Hopkins.

In 1998, the ECUA held a voter referendum on adding fluoride to drinking water where 58% of voters approved it. The News Journal archives show the opinion pages that year were full of largely the same arguments being made today on both sides of the issue.

Preventing tooth decay: DeSantis says he’s going to sign bill banning fluoride. Here’s how that will impact you

Dave Murzin is a former state legislator and member of the ECUA Citizens’ Advisory Committee. As the son of a dentist who supported fluoride in drinking water as a lower-cost alternative to improve public health, Murzin said he also supports keeping it in the water especially for people who can’t afford dental care or items like toothpaste.

“Not everybody has the availability of toothpaste,” Murzin said. “Some kids don’t have access to fluoride and dental treatments and going to the dentist every six months, so fluoride in the water was one of those things that helped kids and their teeth. I think overall it would be a great benefit to keep it in there, but these days in the Florida Legislature we’re doing interesting things.”

Fellow ECUA Citizens’ Advisory Committee member Dean Kirschner has mixed feelings about the issue. He said while he supports tooth decay prevention for people, especially children, he also supports government implementing the will of the people.

“I’m not a scientist,” Kirschner said. “I don’t really know. It seems to me that there are enough people who would rather not have fluoride than people who would rather have fluoride, and I think enough pressure was put on the legislature to stop the fluoride and in that regard, it’s probably a good thing.”

Fluoride stopped then reinstated in some cities

According to reports in some dental and scientific publications, cities in both America and Canada have previously stopped using fluoride in their water supplies, then later reintroduced it.

Some discontinued its use because of cost, others over health concerns.

For example, Buffalo, New York, and Port Angeles, Washington, stopped and then resumed fluoridating their water. Juneau, Alaska and the cities of Calgary and Alberta in Canda did the same, then resumed it citing an increase in tooth decay among children.

Locally, some leaders hope the county and community will find other ways to support dental care for people who otherwise can’t afford it.

ECUA is expected to discuss next steps in following the new law at their next board meeting on May 27 at 3 p.m. in the ECUA Board Room, 9255 Sturdevant Street, Ellyson Industrial Park.