USA - Local group rallies against fluoride in Orange County water

A number of local activists took to the sidewalks outside of Chapel Hill Town Hall on the evening of Thursday, August 24th, to protest the OWASA board's continued fluoridation of Orange County water sources.

The Fluoride Free Chapel Hill/Carrboro (FFCC)rallied outside Chapel Hill Town Hall to protest against the fluoride in Orange County's water Wednesday night. 

The protests came in response to a cancelled meeting set for Aug. 24 by the Orange County Water and Sewage Authority's Board of Directors, in which members of the community planned to address the fluorinated water issue. OWASA cancelled all their summer meetings, making it three months without an opportunity for residents to voice their concerns in a public comment meeting.

“Anybody that wants it, wants to put it on topically; that’s your business. You can go to a dentist who will give you a fluoride tray who will put it in there, but don’t put it in the water and medicate me without my permission,” said Mike Willock, a protester and dentist of 28 years.

OWASA suspended fluoridation after the fluoride overfeed, or the OWASA water crises, this past February. Yet on March 9 they decided to resume with the chemical for some time in September. 

“The OWASA Board received numerous comments and questions regarding fluoridation in 2013 and in 2017, we welcome public discussion of the community’s water and water resources,” Greg Feller, OWASA’s public affairs administrator, said............