Fluoride in Arlington, TN: The 2025 Removal Vote & What We Can't Confirm Yet
Arlington drinks Oakland Water Department water — Memphis aquifer groundwater that was fluoridated for years. Oakland's board voted to stop adding fluoride in March 2025, but published no timeline, and the newest official report still shows a fluoride level. Here is what is documented, what isn't, and how to get a straight answer for your address.
Arlington's water supplier voted to remove fluoride in 2025 — the last published level was 0.64 mg/L, and the current status is unconfirmed. Oakland Water Department's board voted for removal on March 25, 2025, but no implementation timeline was published, and Oakland's 2025 water quality report still reported fluoride. Ask Oakland Water Department directly for today's status.
Why this page is careful with its wording: most fluoride pages can state a level and move on. Arlington's can't — the decision to remove fluoride is documented, the removal itself is not. So this page separates the two, and labels every number as either a last published figure or a benchmark, never as a current measurement.
The bigger picture: our complete fluoride guide
This page covers Arlington's unusual in-between status. For how water fluoridation works, what the evidence says about benefits and risks, and how Tennessee systems compare, see our complete guide to fluoride in Tennessee tap water.
Water quality in Arlington
Curious about your tap water? Tennessee Water Authority has the full Arlington water quality guide — contaminant data, utility details, and filter recommendations. Read the Arlington water quality guide.
The numbers: last published level vs. the benchmarks
Oakland has historically adjusted its fluoride — adding it to reach a target level, rather than relying on whatever the aquifer provides. Its reports have consistently landed just under the CDC's recommended level. The figure below is the most recent one Oakland has published.
| Figure | Level | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland Water Department — last published level2025 Consumer Confidence Report, annual average | 0.64 mg/L | The newest measurement Oakland has made public. It is a last published figure, not a current reading — the report's sample is dated only "2025," so it cannot show whether the removal vote has since taken effect. |
| CDC recommended level | 0.7 mg/L | The level the U.S. Public Health Service and CDC recommend systems maintain — enough for cavity prevention, low enough to limit fluorosis risk. |
| EPA secondary standard | 2.0 mg/L | A non-enforceable guideline aimed at preventing cosmetic dental fluorosis (mottling) in children. Systems above it must notify customers. |
| EPA enforceable maximum (MCL) | 4.0 mg/L | The legal limit. Above it, long-term exposure is associated with bone effects (skeletal fluorosis). Oakland's last published level is about one-sixth of this cap. |
Source for the 0.64 mg/L figure: Oakland Water System Water Quality Report for 2025 (hosted by the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts). For context, Oakland's 2021 report showed 0.63 mg/L — the system's level was stable for years before the removal vote.
What happened, in order
Arlington has no water system of its own in this picture — its fluoride status follows Oakland's decisions, because Oakland Water Department (system TN0000521) is the supplier. Here is the sequence, with the gap at the end stated plainly.
Fluoridated, on purpose
Oakland adjusted the fluoride in its Memphis aquifer groundwater, and its reports show it: 0.63 mg/L average in the 2021 Consumer Confidence Report, 0.64 mg/L in the 2025 report — right around the CDC's recommended 0.7 mg/L.
The board votes to remove fluoride
After an extended public hearing, Oakland's Board of Aldermen voted to remove fluoride from the water — three members in favor, two abstaining. Staff were directed to take the administrative steps to stop fluoridation and report back. The board published no implementation timeline.
The newest report still shows 0.64 mg/L
Oakland's Water Quality Report for 2025 reports fluoride at 0.64 mg/L average. Because the sample is dated only by year, it can't establish whether that water was drawn before or after any removal — it is evidence of the recent past, not of today.
Current status: unconfirmed
We could find no published source confirming that fluoridation has stopped — or that it continues. Until Oakland publishes a timeline or a new report, the honest answer to "is Arlington's water fluoridated right now?" is that nobody outside Oakland Water Department has verified it. The next Consumer Confidence Report (for 2026) should settle it.
A local decision, not a state mandate
Oakland's vote was its own board's choice. A Tennessee bill that would have prohibited adding fluoride to public water systems statewide (SB162/HB2396, 2025–2026) failed in committee in March 2026 — so nothing at the state level forced Oakland's hand, and nothing forces a reversal either.
What it means for your family — either way
The practical advice barely changes with the water's status, because the biggest fluoride source in most households was never the tap. Here's how to think about it while Arlington's status is unresolved — and if removal does take effect.
01 Toothpaste does the heavy lifting
Brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste matters regardless of what's in the water — it's the one fluoride source every household controls. If Oakland's removal takes effect, toothpaste stops being the backup and becomes the primary source. Either way, don't switch to a fluoride-free toothpaste on the assumption the water has you covered — right now, that assumption is exactly what's unverified.
02 Kids' amounts (ADA guidance)
For children under 3, use a rice-grain smear of fluoride toothpaste. From age 3, a pea-size amount. Teach kids to spit, not swallow — that dosing is how children get fluoride's benefit on erupting teeth without excess while their permanent teeth are still forming.
03 If the water is no longer fluoridated
Conditionally — if removal has taken effect — two things become more valuable: fluoride varnish applied at dental checkups, and, for some children, fluoride supplements. Supplements come with a hard condition: only on a dentist's or pediatrician's advice, and only after confirming your water's actual status. Supplementing on top of fluoridated water overshoots; the whole point is matching intake to what the tap no longer provides.
04 On a private well?
None of this page applies to you. Well water isn't fluoridated by anyone, and its natural fluoride level varies — the only way to know yours is a lab test of your well water. If your home is on a well, bring a test result to your dentist or pediatrician before making any decision about supplements for your children.
How to confirm the current status
Because no timeline was published, the usual shortcuts only get you partway. Work through these in order — the first step matters more than usual in Arlington, because not every Arlington address is on Oakland's system.
- Check your water bill first. Some Arlington-area addresses are served by Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW), the Bartlett Water System, or Gallaway Water Department instead of Oakland. The system named on your bill is the one whose fluoride decision applies to you — Oakland's vote only governs Oakland customers.
- If your bill says Oakland, ask Oakland Water Department directly. Right now this is the only reliable route to a current answer. Ask a plain question: "Has the fluoride feed been shut off following the March 2025 vote, and what is the current fluoride level at the tap?" A voted decision with no published timeline can only be confirmed by the people operating the plant.
- Read the current Consumer Confidence Report. Oakland's 2025 report is published here: Oakland Water Quality Report (taud.org). Watch for the 2026 report — its fluoride line will show whether removal took effect during 2026.
- Cross-check with CDC's My Water's Fluoride. The CDC's My Water's Fluoride database lists fluoridation status by system. Treat it as a cross-check, not the final word — listings can lag a local decision like Oakland's.
Questions people actually ask us
The questions Arlington readers send in — answered as straight as the record allows, including where the record runs out.
Honestly: we could not verify either way. Oakland Water Department — Arlington's supplier — voted on March 25, 2025 to remove fluoride, but published no implementation timeline, and its 2025 water quality report still reported fluoride at 0.64 mg/L average. That report's sample is dated only "2025," so it can't prove the post-vote state. The only reliable way to know today is to ask Oakland Water Department directly.
March 25, 2025. Oakland's Board of Aldermen voted to remove fluoride from the municipal water supply after an extended public hearing — three members in favor, two abstaining. Staff were directed to take the administrative steps to stop fluoridation and report back, but the board set no implementation date, and none has been published that we could find.
0.64 mg/L average, from Oakland Water Department's 2025 Consumer Confidence Report. The 2021 report showed 0.63 mg/L. Both sit just below the CDC's recommended 0.7 mg/L and far below the EPA's enforceable maximum of 4.0 mg/L and secondary standard of 2.0 mg/L. Treat 0.64 mg/L as the last published figure, not a live reading — if removal has since taken effect, the current level would be lower.
Keep doing the basics regardless of the water's status: brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste — a rice-grain smear for children under 3, a pea-size amount from age 3. If removal has taken effect, toothpaste becomes your household's main fluoride source and fluoride varnish at dental checkups matters more. Supplements are a conversation for your dentist or pediatrician, and only after confirming your water's current status — never start them on a guess.
Then Oakland's vote doesn't decide your water. Some Arlington-area addresses are served by Memphis Light, Gas & Water, the Bartlett Water System, or Gallaway Water Department instead. Check the system name on your water bill, then look up that system's own water quality report or its listing in CDC's My Water's Fluoride. Each system makes its own fluoridation decision.
Sources & method
- Oakland Water System — Water Quality Report for 2025 (hosted by the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts): fluoride 0.64 mg/L average, sample year 2025. taud.org/CCR/OaklandCCR.pdf. Accessed October 20, 2026.
- Removal vote — Citizen Portal, "Oakland aldermen vote to remove fluoride from city water after extended public hearing" (March 25, 2025; three in favor, two abstentions; no implementation timeline published): citizenportal.ai. Accessed October 20, 2026.
- Oakland 2021 Consumer Confidence Report: fluoride 0.63 mg/L average — the pre-vote baseline showing the system historically adjusted fluoride to near the CDC target.
- Benchmarks — CDC / U.S. Public Health Service recommended level 0.7 mg/L; EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations: fluoride MCL 4.0 mg/L; EPA secondary standard 2.0 mg/L.
- CDC My Water's Fluoride — per-system fluoridation status database: nccd.cdc.gov/DOH_MWF. Its per-system classification for Oakland could not be fully retrieved at research time — one more reason this page does not state a current status.
- State context — Tennessee SB162/HB2396 (2025–2026), which would have prohibited fluoridation statewide, failed in 2026 (Senate committee vote 4–5, March 11, 2026; House bill taken off notice March 24, 2026). Oakland's removal was a local decision.
- Children's toothpaste amounts — American Dental Association guidance: rice-grain smear under age 3, pea-size amount from age 3.
Method in one line: this page states only what the documents support — a documented vote, a documented last measurement, and an honestly labeled gap between them. We will update the status line when Oakland publishes a timeline or its 2026 water quality report.