Fluoride would cost Qld councils less than $5 per person, analysis reveals

It costs local councils less than the price of a cup of coffee per resident to fluoridate the water supply for a whole year, new analysis has revealed.

Premier David Crisafulli says fluoridation is a matter for Queensland councils to consider. Picture:John Gass

It costs local councils less than a cup of coffee per resident to fluoridate the water supply for a whole year, new analysis has revealed.

And while councils have pushed for the financial ­burden to fall on the state government, the Crisafulli administration has refused to say if it would pitch in if asked.

The Courier-Mail and its sister publications across Queensland have launched the State of Decay series, highlighting the significant dental health problems in regions without fluoride, as a vocal minority continues to lobby councils to keep the vital mineral out of the water.

Analysis of council records, including Gympie, Cairns, Gladstone and Mackay, show the cost of fluoridating the regional water supply was relatively cheap – coming out to less than $5 a person. According to the National Health and Medical Research Council, for every dollar that is spent on fluoridation, between $7 and $18 is saved due to avoided dental treatment costs.

Just 25 of Queensland’s 77 councils have fluoridated water, with the majority of those in the South East.

Local Government and Water Minister Ann Leahy would not comment on the state government chipping in to cover the costs of adding fluoride to state water supplies. File picture: Evan Morgan

Several councils have pulled fluoride from their water supply in the last decade, including Cairns, Rockhampton, Gladstone, the Central Highlands, and South and North Burnett.

Gympie Regional Council records from September 2024, when councillors voted to remove fluoride, show it cost them $255,000 a year to operate and maintain fluoridation plants – a cost per resident of $4.78 based on 2021 Census data.

In Gladstone, the council in 2018 estimated it would cost $150,000 in the first year to reinstate fluoride and $30,000 a year in operational costs thereafter.

This would have worked out to be $2.92 per resident.

Cairns Regional Council, at the 2013 meeting that ended in the decision to remove fluoride, was told the “cessation of fluoridation would have a direct cost reduction to the operating budget albeit minor”.

The region’s mayor at the time said it cost the council $300,000 in chemicals, staffing, testing, electricity and infrastructure a year, which based on population levels at the time amounted to $1.90 per resident.

In Mackay, when fluoride was removed from the region in 2016, it was costing council just $60,000 a year – the equivalent of 52c per resident.

Premier David Crisafulli has remained adamant councils should have the final say on whether the local water supply is fluoridated.

But when asked if the state government would pitch in to cover costs, a spokeswoman for Local Government and Water Minister Ann Leahy would not say.

“The government has not been approached by local councils seeking funding to deliver water fluoridation,” she said.

A majority of Gladstone regional councillors, at a meeting last month, voted against reintroducing fluoride in the water and getting the state to pay for it as well as a subsequent motion to consult the community and figure out costs.

Originally published as Fluoride would cost Qld councils less than $5 per person, analysis reveals