USA - Sheridan City Council Votes To Remove Fluoride From Water Supply

The water supply in and around Sheridan no longer contains added fluoride after the city council voted to remove it.

Sheridan's city council voted to stop fluoridating the area water supply after the results of a survey sent out to city water customers revealed that most of the respondents wanted fluoride gone.

About 34 percent of surveys were returned, and over half said they didn't want fluoride added to the water.

State and federal health officials, however, support fluoridated water for health reasons.

It cost the city around $1,700 to stop pumping and to dispose of the fluoride.

Sheridan City Councilman Aaron Linden said this has been a divisive topic in the area for years.

"It's been a point of conversation around this community since 2015, but it's been really been brought to the forefront for almost a year at this point in time now," Linden said.

Linden said he wanted residents to ultimately make the decision about whether to continue adding fluoride or remove it.

"There's pros and cons to either side I guess on either side. But what ended up happening at the end of the day was the people they finally got their say into whether it was going to be in the water system," he said.

The community started adding fluoride to the water in 2015 for health reasons. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 75 percent of the communities in the U.S. have fluoridated water.

Linden said the equipment used to pump fluoride will be repurposed and the council is considering how to use the funds set aside for fluoridation.