Council Doubles Down Against Water Fluoridation

There are renewed calls from state and national dental organisations for the Queensland Government to mandate fluoridated water across the state, with Burdekin Shire Council being one of 51 Queensland councils without fluoridated water.

A statement from the Australian Dental Association Queensland (ADAQ) said community fluoridation is one of the simplest, safest and most inexpensive preventative health measures.

“ADAQ supports the re-introduction of state government-led water supply fluoridation in Queensland now,” the statement said.

“All Queenslanders should be able to access fluoridated water, regardless of age, social status, or where they live.  

“Community fluoridation is one of the cornerstones of modern preventive dentistry.”

Local dentist Dr Ramon Oar agreed, saying there is no debate that water fluoridation reduces levels of tooth decay.

“We are big supporters of fluoridating community water supplies because it is a cost-effective measure to reduce tooth decay across the whole population,” he said.

“Everyone has access to drinking water out of the tap, irrespective of their socio-economic situation, so everyone benefits.”

A media statement from Burdekin Shire Council said that while the council acknowledges the benefits of fluoridation, it has never added fluoride to the Burdekin’s water supply, nor does it plan to in the future.

The statement said that the Burdekin has four separate water source schemes, each with multiple input Bore Sources that differ widely in natural fluoridation levels across the schemes.  

“In the Burdekin, the cost of individual dosing and control points for this would be very costly taking the natural levels into account,” the statement read.

“There is also WHS (workplace health and safety) issues with the management of fluoride dosing with repeated exposure to operations due to occupational exposure and must be carefully managed by suitably skilled staff which are difficult to access in rural and regional areas.”

The council estimates the costs of fluoride dosing to be in excess of $50,000 per annum plus upfront infrastructure costs for the scheme of approximately $60,000 per site for at least eight individual sites, plus operational and chemical costs.  

“Many residents in rural areas, like the Burdekin, are opposed to ‘Mass Medication’, where families, residents like to choose to fluoridate children through tablets, toothpaste, or other choices,” the statement continued.

“Burdekin Shire Council’s position would not change even if the State Government would pay for infrastructure upgrades and operational costs.”

Fluoride was first added to drinking water in Australia in 1953 in Beaconsfield, Tasmania.

Townsville’s water supply has been fluoridated since 1964 with the majority of southeast Queensland fluoridating its water since 2008 when the Queensland Government, then led by Premier Anna Bligh, legislated for mandatory fluoridation of drinking water supplies.

Councils were then able to opt out of water fluoridation when Campbell Newman’s government scrapped the mandate in 2012.

While the state government offered to provide funds for the initial infrastructure required for water fluoridation, Burdekin councillors at that time voted against the offer as they deemed the ongoing maintenance and upkeep costs unjustifiable.

“The politics curbed what would have been a great initiative in the Burdekin,” Dr Oar said.

“The cost-benefit was going to help the state government, who pay the public health bills, but the local councils had to find money in their budget to keep the town’s water fluoridated for no return on that investment, so they didn’t support it and it never happened.”

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