East Texas

By STEPHANIE JETER
Staff Writer

HENDERSON - Henderson's city water will soon be fortified with fluoride, said the city's Public Utilities Director Mike Barrow.

Voted as a "public health" issue, the City Council approved the measure at Tuesday night's City Council meeting.

The month before, a dentist spoke of the benefits fluoridization offers.

At base level, adding fluoride to water strengthens teeth and reduces dental decay for all who drink it, Barrow said.

Henderson's water already registers a small amount of fluoride naturally, but the additive will bring levels up to the recommended 1 mg mark, he said.

Most cities Henderson's size already fortify their water, he said, so the decision to alter Henderson's source wasn't a brash one.

It is, though, a tricky one to carryout.

Henderson has one large water treatment plant and multiple wells. The high number of entry points for Henderson's water makes adding fluoride complicated, he said.

The additional step before pumping the clean water to customers will require about $80,000 in new equipment and about $5,000 per year for fluoride supplies, he said.

The money wasn't included in Henderson's already approved budget, but Barrow said the water utilities department would fund the project.

As for comments from the community, Barrow said there wasn't much resistance.

There are always citizens who think water additives are dangerous, he said, but remarks have remained positive.