In a move that revisits an old public health debate, the Hillsboro City Council has greenlit a community advisory vote on the topic of fluoridating the city's drinking water supply. According to City records, the initiative is slated for the November 2024 ballot and seeks to adhere to the EPA's recommended fluoridation level of 0.7 mg/L. This latest development comes following an announcement from a pro-fluoridation group in late 2023 intending to push for this measure.

The history of fluoridating Hillsboro's water is as cloudy as the Willamette River on a rainy day, with oscillating public sentiment spanning decades. The last time residents had their say was in the 1950s, when they first approved, then swiftly turned down, the measure in a special election. Fast forward to the present, two failed attempts by advocacy groups in 2002 and 2012 failed to even get the proposal on the ballot. It seems, the Council's latest decision to include an advisory vote may finally give the community a formal opportunity to weigh in.

As it stands, fluoride levels in Hillsboro's water supply are a tale of two territories. West of Cornelius Pass Road and south of Highway 26, the Hillsboro Water Department delivers non-fluoridated water. To the east and north, residents receive their fluoridated water courtesy of the Tualatin Valley Water District, with both areas distinctly marked on the available city maps.

Following the Utilities Commission's recommendation, the City Council's approval for a vote aligns with the broader discourse on public health measures, and specifically, the contentious debate on water fluoridation. Yet in taking this step, officials aren't just dipping their toes into the waters of civic engagement, they are diving into the deep end. Their decision has the potential to shift the currents of community health initiatives, and the results from the advisory vote may well pave the way for new policies or cement the status quo.