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Spokane Council Votes To Move Ahead With Fluoridation Study

Screenshot from City Cable 5

The Spokane City Council voted Monday night to change an agreement to allow the city to study the feasibility of fluoridating the city water supply.The agreement means the city will accept $600,000 from the Arcora Foundation without worry that it will have to re-pay the money if the city decides not to fluoridate. The repayment provision is a stipulation of the current contract.

Councilmember Lori Kinnear says the vote gives city engineers the go-ahead to start a feasibility study.

“If, down the road, we decide that this needs to go on the ballot, to an advisory vote, the voters will be informed of the costs and what it would take to actually implement something like this. So, in no way does this say we are going to fluoridate. It is merely an RFQ at this point," she said.

Opponents of fluoridation say the city shouldn’t even take the step of doing a study. They say research shows the negatives of ingesting fluoride, including cognitive developmental problems in young children, outweigh the positives of protecting teeth. They argue fluoride is a better tool for teeth when it can be applied directly.

The Arcora Foundation is a financial supporter of Spokane Public Radio.