water fluoridation program
City water fluoride use, health guidance, costs, and possible policy changes
What to Watch
Watch for the water utility's required public and state notices and confirmation that fluoride addition ended on Oct. 31.
Coming Up
Typically discussed at City Council Work Session. Check back when the next agenda is published.
The Story
Two Rivers will stop adding fluoride to its municipal water on Oct. 31 under a 7-2 City Council vote. The decision ends a practice the city had followed since 1952, following work-session reviews in July and August. Residents spoke on both sides, raising individual-choice and dental-health access concerns.
Key Decisions
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passed 7-2 City Council · Sep 8, 2026 26-161 Resolution Discontinuing Fluoridation of the City of Two Rivers Municipal Water Supply
Motion to discontinue fluoridation of the City of Two Rivers municipal water supply
Mark Bittner NoDoug Brandt YesKatherine Dahlke YesBill LeClair YesDarla LeClair YesTim Petri YesAdam Wachowski Yes -
passed 8-0 City Council Work Session · Aug 31, 2026 26-151 Review of City of Two Rivers Water Fluoridation Program and Action to Place on Future Agenda for Consideration and Final Action
Motion to put the City’s water fluoridation program on the September 8, 2026 City Council agenda for consideration and final action.
Shannon Derby YesBill LeClair YesDoug Brandt YesTim Petri YesKatherine Dahlke YesAdam Wachowski YesDarla LeClair YesMark Bittner YesScott Stechmesser Absent
Record
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At a City Council work session, staff reviewed Two Rivers' fluoridation program, which had operated since 1952, including its annual cost of about $12,000, dental-health benefits, health and environmental considerations, and employee exposure to the concentrated treatment chemical.
City Council Work Session -
Council made no policy decision and asked staff to contact communities that had ended fluoridation before returning for another work session.
City Council Work Session -
Council continued its review of whether to keep adding fluoride, discussing possible dental-health benefits, health concerns, individual choice, alternatives to fluoridated water, and feedback from communities that stopped fluoridation.
City Council Work Session -
The utility director reported that communities contacted by the city had not conducted formal research after ending fluoridation, limiting the usefulness of those comparisons for longer-term outcomes.
City Council Work Session -
Council voted 8-0 to schedule formal consideration and final action on fluoridation for Sept. 8; the vote did not decide whether fluoride would continue.
City Council Work Session -
City Council passed Resolution 26-161, 7-2, directing the water utility to stop adding fluoride to the municipal water supply effective Oct. 31, 2026. Petri made the motion and Wachowski seconded it; Bittner and Derby voted no.
City Council -
The resolution directs city staff to complete operational steps and provide required public and state notices related to ending fluoridation.
City Council