Davis, California, City Council rejects water fluoridation 4-1

(http://www.sacbee.com) The City Council of Davis, California, voted 4-1 on Tuesday to reject a proposal to fluoridate the city's drinking water

The vote comes after an earlier measure was passed that authorized city leaders to expand existing water supplies. Water fluoridation was not a part of that measure, so when it came up as a proposal, many citizens vehemently opposed it. Alan Pryor, the leader of Davis Citizens Against Fluoridation, said, "It's truly a moral issue. People were told we would get pure, clean water. They did not give consent to mass medication."

Councilman Dan Wolk was the only person to vote in favor of fluoridation.

According to preliminary estimates, fluoridating the city's planned water treatment plant could cost $301,000 a year before operating costs. The cost to add fluoride to the city's six deep wells would cost as much as $2 million, according to some estimates, while operation and maintenance costs were expected to be around $181,000. All that is in addition to the adverse effects that fluoride can have on health and the environment: it can lead to fluorosis, and water going down the drain or in people's yards can contaminate the environment with fluoride.

Jeff Boone, a managing director at Davis-based small business lender California Statewide CDC and fluoridation opponent, pledged $10,000 toward the purchase of a mobile dental van to help protect children's oral health in the city without subjecting its citizens to harmful forced medication with chemicals in their drinking water.