Jason Krueger, Sauk Rapids
The city of Sauk Rapids recently mailed a newsletter to residents highlighting useful information, including construction updates, voting precinct locations and other upcoming events. The newsletter also included its water-quality report.
This annual report identifies the various contaminants found in the drinking water as well as their maximum contaminant levels. Of special mention is the single contaminant that is voluntarily added to the water. Yes, you heard that correctly – a contaminant is voluntarily added to the water. Taxpayer money is used not only for the chemical itself but also for the equipment and manpower to administer the program to the tune of thousands of dollars each year.
Municipalities typically strive to reduce or, better yet, eliminate contaminants from the drinking water. Instead, a state law passed in 1967 forces individual cities to add a contaminant based on a theory that doing so would “promote strong teeth.”
Nearly 50 years have passed since this law was made. Minnesota lawmakers would do its citizens a favor by revisiting its water-fluoridation program to determine if it’s still appropriate to administer a product originating from “discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories” via the water supply in a one-size-fits-all prescription.
Local lawmakers Jim Newberger, Tama Theis, Jeff Howe, Michelle Fischbach, John Pederson and Dave Brown each signed onto HF 272/SF 522, which would have allowed the city of Sauk Rapids (as well as neighboring cities) to eliminate this outdated, wasteful and contradictory program. Unfortunately, neither bill was given a committee hearing and was subsequently negated.
Please thank them and ask your local representatives if they too would support removing fluorosiliic acid from drinking water as 98 percent of the world has already done. Minnesota has excellent water; let’s stop intentionally polluting it with fluoride.