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RentalsBeatrice residents will decide Tuesday whether or not to adopt an ordinance prohibiting the fluoridation of the city’s drinking water.
A vote yes on the measure will prohibit fluoridation. A vote no will allow for fluoridation of the water.
In April, the Nebraska Legislature passed LB245, which requires fluoride to be added to drinking water in cities and towns with more than 1,000 residents by June 1, 2010.
Under the state law, cities and towns are able to opt out of the requirement if residents vote it down or if there is enough naturally occurring fluoride already in the water supply. Beatrice water’s natural fluoridation level is .25.
Most of Nebraska’ population -- more than 942,000 people -- is served by 65 public water systems that add fluoride to water. Forty-one systems are naturally fluoridated. But 64 Nebraska communities with more than 1,000 people, including Beatrice, don’t add fluoride or have enough on their own.
The City of Beatrice made the decision in August to allow the citizens of Beatrice to decide on whether to fluoridate or not in the Nov. 4 election.
“In the past it has been a highly controversial and emotionally charged issue,” Beatrice Mayor Dennis Schuster said. “Since the Legislature allowed for cities to put it to a vote, that’s what we did.”
However, Schuster has noticed the issue isn’t as controversial as it has been in the past. When the issue was on the ballot 30 years ago, there was many people who spoke out for or against it, he said.
That hasn’t been the case this time around.
Beatrice fluoridated its water from April 17, 1950, to Nov. 23, 1954, as recommended by the Gage County Dental Association. Fluoridation stopped in 1954 after a petition was circulated in the community and the issue was placed on the ballot, Steve Kelley, Board of Public Works water superintendent, said.
Voters chose 2 to 1 to stop fluoridation. The issue was on the ballot two or three other times as well.
Many local Beatrice dentists are for fluoridation.
“For every $1 on fluoridation you save $80 in dental treatments,” Dr. Tim Gleason, DDS, said. The best thing about it is it reaches everybody, not just people with dental insurance.”
Gleason said people should not be worried about fluoridation in the water. It has been done for a number of years and there hasn’t been scientific evidence linking it to increased health risks.
“It’s proven over the year’s it’s safe,” Dr. Bert Villafane, DDS, said.
If the city does add fluoride, residential water customers would see an increase of about 25 cents on their monthly bill, Kelley said. Commercial customers would see about a $1.50 increase each month.
Beatrice Public Water would likely have to spend about $88,000 to buy and install equipment and put up a building to fluoridate, Kelley said. After that, he said, it would cost about $15,000 a year to fluoridate.
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