Fluoride in Columbia, TN
Columbia fluoridated its water for five decades. Then, on September 25, 2013, its utility board voted 3–2 to stop — and no fluoride has been added since. Here is the record, and what it means for your teeth.
Columbia’s water is not fluoridated. Columbia Power & Water System fluoridated from the 1960s until its board voted 3–2 on September 25, 2013 to discontinue fluoridation — and EWG testing since (2021–2023) shows fluoride not detected. Maury County buys the same water. Fluoride toothpaste carries the full load here.
How this page works: no fluoride level is published for Columbia on this page, because there isn’t one to publish: the system does not fluoridate, and its status is documented by the 2013 board vote and by testing since. New to the topic? Start with our full fluoride guide.
Water quality in Columbia
Curious about your tap water? Tennessee Water Authority has the full Columbia water quality guide — contaminant data, utility details, and filter recommendations.
Columbia’s fluoride status, utility by utility
Columbia’s status is a matter of public record: its utility board voted fluoridation out in 2013, and testing since shows fluoride not detected. The cards below lay out the vote, the corroboration, and what it means for the systems that buy Columbia’s water.
STATUS Not fluoridated — by board vote
Discontinued in 2013
CPWS fluoridated from the 1960s until its Board of Public Utilities voted 3–2 on September 25, 2013 to discontinue fluoridation (Columbia Herald, reported at the time). The system has not added fluoride since.
CORROBORATION Testing since shows none detected
EWG’s record for CPWS (TN0000128), from 2021–2023 testing, lists fluoride among chemicals tested for but not detected — exactly what you would expect from a system that does not fluoridate.
DOWNSTREAM Maury County buys the same water
Maury County Water System (TN0000770, ~23,118 served) purchases CPWS water — the same unfluoridated supply. CPWS itself serves ~78,630 directly and supplies water relied on by 100,000+ people across Maury County, Spring Hill, and Mount Pleasant.
NEIGHBOR Mount Pleasant — no fluoride reported
Mount Pleasant Water System (TN0000488, ~8,610) draws on its own natural springs plus a small amount of Columbia water. Its 2025 water quality report contains no fluoride entry at all — it does not report adding fluoride, and no level is published here for it.
UTILITY Columbia Power & Water System
System TN0000128. One of the largest municipal systems in this series — which is why its 2013 decision affects so many households beyond the city limits.
SOURCE Duck River
CPWS treats Duck River water at its plant on Riverside Drive. The river is not the issue — the treatment decision is: fluoride was added for five decades and, since 2013, is not.
There is no Columbia level to compare
A benchmark table with no city number in it looks odd until you see why: Columbia’s systems publish no fluoride level because they do not fluoridate. The benchmarks stay on the page so the scale is clear — and so nobody mistakes “no level” for a missing detail.
| Benchmark | Level | How this compares |
|---|---|---|
| Columbia Power & Water System (TN0000128) | Not fluoridated — no level | Fluoridation discontinued by board vote, September 25, 2013. EWG 2021–2023 data: fluoride tested for, not detected. |
| Maury County Water System (TN0000770) | Not fluoridated — purchases CPWS water | A purchasing system carries its supplier’s status: Columbia’s water, Columbia’s answer. |
| Mount Pleasant Water System (TN0000488) | No fluoride reported | Its 2025 water quality report contains no fluoride entry; it does not report adding fluoride. |
| CDC recommended level | 0.7 mg/L | The level the CDC recommends community systems target. |
| EPA secondary (non-enforceable) standard | 2.0 mg/L | A guideline aimed at preventing cosmetic effects like tooth discoloration. |
| EPA enforceable maximum contaminant level (MCL) | 4.0 mg/L | The legal limit — a safety ceiling, not a target. |
The CDC and EPA rows are benchmarks for systems that fluoridate and for safety limits — Columbia meets none of them because it adds nothing. That is a policy fact about the water, not a contamination finding: unfluoridated water is legal and common; it simply provides no cavity protection.
The 2013 vote, in one place
Columbia fluoridated its water from the 1960s. In 2011 two neighbors — Spring Hill and Hohenwald — removed fluoride, and CPWS took the question up through 2013. On September 25, 2013, the Board of Public Utilities voted 3–2 to discontinue fluoridation. Nothing since has reversed it: a decade later, independent testing still shows fluoride not detected in Columbia’s water.
Do you still need fluoride toothpaste?
Yes — and this is the point people most often get backwards.
In a fluoridated town, drinking water is background exposure — a low level of fluoride bathing your teeth through the day, under the main event of toothpaste. Columbia has no background layer. Every bit of topical fluoride your enamel gets has to come from what you deliberately use: toothpaste first, and rinses or in-office treatments where a clinician advises them.
That makes the basics non-negotiable here: brush twice daily with fluoride toothpaste. If you have been using a non-fluoride “natural” toothpaste on the assumption that the water covers you, in Columbia it does not — that assumption is the single most common fluoride mistake in an unfluoridated town.
Fluoride and kids: the amounts matter
In Columbia this guidance matters more, not less: with no fluoride in the water, toothpaste is most of what a child’s teeth get. Young children swallow toothpaste, so the ADA’s guidance is about using the right small amount — not about avoiding fluoride toothpaste.
UNDER 3 A rice-grain smear
For children under age 3, use a smear of fluoride toothpaste about the size of a grain of rice. That tiny amount is deliberate — it protects the teeth while keeping what gets swallowed to a minimum.
AGES 3+ A pea-size amount
From age 3 up, a pea-size amount is enough. A ribbon of paste running the length of the brush is several times more than a child needs.
- Supervise brushing. An adult should be watching (and helping) until a child can reliably spit and rinse on their own.
- Teach spitting, not swallowing. Spit the toothpaste out when done; swallowing it as a habit is what the small amounts are designed to guard against.
- Don’t load the brush. More paste does not mean cleaner teeth — it mostly means more swallowed.
What about fluoride varnish at the dentist?
An in-office fluoride treatment or varnish is a much stronger, targeted dose than anything in tap water or toothpaste.
Columbia is precisely the situation in-office fluoride exists for. A varnish or treatment puts a much stronger dose directly on the teeth, and for children in unfluoridated communities a dentist may also discuss prescription fluoride supplements — dosed against age and a water supply that contains none. Never start supplements on your own; the dosing is a clinician’s call.
If your cavity risk is low, it’s still worth asking your dentist to walk you through your risk — in an unfluoridated town, “we’ll skip the fluoride” should come with a reason, not as a default.
On a private well? None of this applies automatically
Well water is not fluoridated by any utility
Nobody adjusts the fluoride in a private well — or tests it, unless you do. Well water may carry naturally occurring fluoride, almost none, or more than you'd expect, and taste won't tell you. Around Columbia, well water could actually contain more fluoride than the city supply does — or none at all. If your home is on a well in Maury County, have the water tested before assuming anything about its fluoride level, and tell your dentist you're on well water so your fluoride plan is built on your actual water, not the city's.
How to confirm Columbia’s level yourself
Don’t take our word for it — the primary sources are public.
- Confirm with CPWS. The September 25, 2013 board vote is public record; Columbia Power & Water System can confirm its current practice directly, and its annual water quality report is the document of record for TN0000128.
- Check CDC’s My Water’s Fluoride. The CDC’s system-by-system tracker at nccd.cdc.gov/DOH_MWF lists fluoridation status for community water systems, including CPWS (TN0000128) and Maury County (TN0000770).
- Read a neighbor’s report. Mount Pleasant’s 2025 water quality report (PDF) contains no fluoride entry — a useful cross-check of what “not fluoridated” looks like in print.
For the bigger picture — how fluoridation works, the arguments on both sides, and how to think about filters — see our full fluoride guide.
Questions people actually ask
Asked the way people actually ask them — answered from the sources cited below.
No. Columbia Power & Water System fluoridated its water from the 1960s until its Board of Public Utilities voted 3–2 on September 25, 2013 to discontinue fluoridation. The system has not added fluoride since. Maury County Water System buys Columbia's water, so its customers get the same unfluoridated supply.
The vote was September 25, 2013 — a 3–2 decision by CPWS's Board of Public Utilities after months of public debate, reported at the time by the Columbia Herald. Columbia had fluoridated since the 1960s. The decision is documented on this page because it is the single most important fact about Columbia's water for your teeth: everything else — toothpaste, varnish, supplements — follows from it.
None is added. EWG's data for CPWS (2021–2023 testing) lists fluoride among the chemicals tested for but not detected in Columbia's water — consistent with a system that does not fluoridate. Trace natural amounts can occur in any source water, but CPWS publishes no fluoride level, and this page publishes none either: the operational fact is that Columbia's water provides no meaningful fluoride.
Mostly, yes. Maury County Water System purchases CPWS water, so county customers get Columbia's unfluoridated water. CPWS is also the wholesale supplier behind Spring Hill and Mount Pleasant service. Mount Pleasant additionally draws on its own springs, and its 2025 water quality report contains no fluoride entry at all — it does not report adding fluoride. Check whose name is on your bill, but no system in this chain reports fluoridating.
Need is the right word here — in Columbia, toothpaste is not backing up the water; it is the whole topical fluoride program for most people. Fluoride toothpaste delivers a concentrated dose directly onto the enamel twice a day, right where decay starts. Brush twice daily with fluoride toothpaste. If you have been using a non-fluoride 'natural' toothpaste on the assumption the water covers you, in Columbia it does not.
The ADA's guidance: for children under age 3, use a smear of fluoride toothpaste about the size of a grain of rice. For ages 3 and up, a pea-size amount is enough. Supervise brushing, teach your child to spit the toothpaste out rather than swallow it, and remember that more paste on the brush does not mean cleaner teeth — the small amounts are deliberate, because young kids swallow some no matter what. In an unfluoridated town, getting the toothpaste right matters more, not less.
Yes — this is exactly the situation those tools exist for. An in-office fluoride treatment or varnish puts a strong dose directly on the teeth, and for children in unfluoridated communities a dentist may also discuss prescription fluoride supplements, which are dosed against your water supply. Never start supplements on your own — the dose depends on age and on the water having none, which is a clinician's call. Ask, and ask for the reasoning either way.
No utility fluoridates private well water — nobody adjusts it at all. Well water can contain some naturally occurring fluoride, a lot, or almost none, and you cannot tell by taste. If your home is on a well in Maury County, have the water tested before assuming anything about its fluoride level, and tell your dentist you are on well water so your fluoride plan reflects it.
The 2013 board decision was reported by the Columbia Herald and is a matter of public record — CPWS can confirm its current practice directly. EWG's system page for CPWS (TN0000128) shows fluoride as tested-for-but-not-detected in 2021–2023 data. You can also check CDC's My Water's Fluoride, which tracks fluoridation status by water system, and read Mount Pleasant's 2025 water quality report (linked below) — it contains no fluoride entry.
Sources & method
- Columbia Herald, September 2013 (via Fluoride Action Network’s contemporaneous bulletin, October 2013) — CPWS Board of Public Utilities voted 3–2 on September 25, 2013 to discontinue fluoridation; Columbia had fluoridated since the 1960s; fluoridealert.org/content/bulletin_10-13-13.
- EWG Tap Water Database, Columbia Power & Water System (TN0000128) — fluoride listed among chemicals tested for but not detected, 2021–2023 data; ewg.org/tapwater/system.php?pws=TN0000128.
- Mount Pleasant Water System, Water Quality Report 2025 — full contaminant table contains no fluoride entry; mtpleasant-tn.gov/s/Water-Quality-Report-2025.pdf.
- Tennessee Water Authority, Columbia water quality guide — CPWS as Duck River utility and wholesale supplier to Maury County, Spring Hill, and Mount Pleasant; tennesseewaterauthority.com/columbia-tn-water-quality-guide.
- CDC — recommended fluoride level of 0.7 mg/L for community water systems; fluoridation status is tracked system by system in CDC’s My Water’s Fluoride.
- EPA — enforceable maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 4.0 mg/L and secondary (non-enforceable) standard of 2.0 mg/L for fluoride in drinking water.
- American Dental Association (ADA) — children’s toothpaste amounts: a rice-grain smear under age 3, a pea-size amount at ages 3 and up, with supervised brushing.
Method in one line: Columbia’s not-fluoridated status rests on the public record of the September 25, 2013 CPWS board vote, corroborated by EWG’s 2021–2023 record showing fluoride not detected and by Mount Pleasant’s fluoride-free 2025 report. No level is published because none exists. We never name, rank, or recommend private dental practices.