Santa Fe, New Mexico Stops Adding Fluoride to Water

The city also kept in place its monitoring of natural levels of fluoride in the water system.

One of New Mexico’s largest cities will no longer add fluoride to its water supply, joining a growing number of other municipalities.

Officials in Santa Fe, the fourth most populous city in the state, have approved an ordinance that removes a city code requiring the fluoridation of the municipal water system.

Two members of the Santa Fe Council introduced the change during an Oct. 8 meeting, and the council approved the ordinance.

Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber signed the measure on Oct. 15, changing section 25-1.8 of the city code by removing lines that stated, “The water supply of the city shall be fluoridated by the addition of sufficient fluoride ion to raise the concentration of fluoride ion reaching each customer to an optimal level on one (1) part per million parts of water. The fluoride ion level shall be maintained between a minimum of eight-tenths (.8) part per million parts and a maximum of one and two-tenths (1.2) parts per million parts of water.”

It also altered a section that said the city must monitor fluoride ion levels in water samples at least once a month to say the city shall test naturally occurring fluoride levels in the water at least once a month and report the results in its annual water quality report.

Fluoride is a mineral that has for years been added to water across the United States. Water fluoridation can help prevent tooth decay, while the benefits are smaller than before the introduction of fluoride-containing toothpaste, according to a 2024 analysis. Some research has also indicated that fluoridation could lead to dental fluorosis and lower IQ.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in April he would tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending it, but the CDC to date still recommends water fluoridation. A recent government report said the Environmental Protection Agency would review new information on the potential health risks of fluoride in water, which would inform new CDC recommendations.

Santa Fe officials said that the fluoride levels in the previous ordinance were out of date, since federal guidance since 2015 has been for fluoride at about 0.7 parts per million.

Santa Fe’s naturally occurring fluoride levels range from 0.3 parts per million to 0.6 parts per million, Jesse Roach, interim director of Santa Fe’s public utilities, told a recent meeting.

He said that the equipment to add fluoride to water has fallen into disrepair and would cost $400,000 to $600,000 to update, in addition to an ongoing $30,000 to $40,000 annual cost. He advised pausing water fluoridation and monitoring the natural levels of the mineral in the water supply.

“What we think that we should do is monitor our naturally occurring levels, which are at the Center for Disease Control recommendation for dental health, and that we continue at this time to, while we remove this requirement that’s too high, monitor the natural levels and monitor the legal and scientific developments at the national level, as this conversation continues, and perhaps a new standard is set,” Santa Fe Councilor Carol Romero-Wirth, one of the members who introduced the ordinance, said at an August meeting.

Jennifer Thompson, chair of the New Mexico Board of Dental Health Care, said in a statement to news outlets after the ordinance was approved that ending water fluoridation in Santa Fe “jeopardizes the oral and overall health of residents and will increase costs for families, insurers, and taxpayers.” She said that adding fluoride to water is safe and helps reduce the need for dental treatments.

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