Village Of Holmen Will Start Fluoridating Its Water

The village of Holmen in southwest Wisconsin will begin fluoridating its water today.

The move follows years of board members and residents going back and forth on whether to add the chemical to its water supply.

Holmen voters approved adding fluoride to their water in 2008. The chemical was added in 2011, but a week later, the majority of village board members voted to stop putting fluoride in the water. Since then, board members have sparred over how much and what kind of fluoride to add to the water.

Opponents say they worry about fluoride’s health effects and people should choose whether to use it. Supporters, government agencies, and many health providers say it prevents tooth decay. Now after years of debate, the public works department will add the federal government’s minimum recommended dosage.

Village board president Nancy Proctor says adding fluoride will bring rapidly-expanding Holmen up to par with other communities. Proctor says the village lost more than $70,000 over the debate, since it had to recycle the unused fluoride.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 63-percent of people in the state receive the recommended levels of fluoride, although 90-perecent of those who get their water from public sources do.

Check out the state’s fluoride census from 2011 here.