Brookhaven Board Ends City Water Fluoridation
The Brookhaven Board of Aldermen voted to stop adding fluoride to the city water supply after hearing from state health officials.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in City Hall
Live Poll
Do you support your city continuing to add fluoride to the drinking water?
The Brookhaven Board of Aldermen voted on Tuesday, November 3, to discontinue fluoride treatment in the city water supply. The fluoride discontinuation was an item on the board's consent agenda.
Why it matters
Brookhaven becomes one of several municipalities that have discontinued fluoridation in recent years, and the decision affects water service for residents of the city. Rising costs have made the treatment expensive for water systems, and grant programs that once helped cover those costs are no longer available.
Missed school days and tooth decay statistics cited in the discussion illustrate the public-health stakes: 51 million school days are missed annually by U.S. children due to tooth decay, which is five times the prevalence of childhood asthma. The source does not report Brookhaven-specific dental outcome data.
The players
Mississippi State Department of Health
The state health agency whose representatives presented fluoridation information to the Brookhaven board, and which operates within a state public-health system that supports community water fluoridation.
Mississippi State Board of Health
The state board that publicly supports community water fluoridation and oversees public-health policy statewide.
The details
Mississippi State Department of Health representatives Karen Walters and Marta Carmichael attended the October 20 board meeting by invitation to discuss fluoridation. Operators of water systems regulate and test fluoride at optimal levels multiple times a week, and the Mississippi State Board of Health supports community water fluoridation.
Timeline
October 20: Health officials attend the board meeting to discuss fluoridation.
Tuesday, November 3, 2026: The board votes to discontinue fluoride treatment.
Political Context
Brookhaven joins a set of municipalities that have discontinued fluoridation in recent years, a trend the source ties to rising treatment costs. The Mississippi State Board of Health's continued support for fluoridation sets the state-level position the local board departed from.
Residents of Brookhaven will receive water without added fluoride following the board's decision, which removes a community-wide preventive measure for tooth decay. The source does not describe any change to water bills or service tied to the vote.
The takeaway
Community water fluoridation is a local decision shaped by cost and state public-health guidance, so residents who want to weigh in on it should watch their city board's agendas. Following consent-agenda items can reveal decisions that receive little public discussion before a vote.
Further reading
For more on how local governments make decisions like this, see the City Hall coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Daily Leader.
Live Poll
Do you support your city continuing to add fluoride to the drinking water?
