Fluoride will remain in Neepawa’s water supply

Details

Published on Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Neepawa Town Council - Tuesday, May 17

By Eoin Devereux

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

The addition of fluoride to Neepawa’s tap water will continue. On Tuesday, May 17, Town Council voted by a 4-3 margin to keep adding the chemical to the municipal water supply. The issue of whether or not to add fluoride has recently been renewed in cities across Canada, as communities such as Windsor and Calgary have debated whether or not the practice still has value.

A request to reexamine the use of fluoride was first made back in January, by wastewater supervisor Howard Buffi. After several months of examining the pros and cons of the continued usage of the chemical, the decision was made to keep using fluoride in the system. The cost of adding fluoride to the water supply is about $10,000 per year.

Swimming Pool repairs completed

Repairs at the Neepawa Swimming Pool have been completed. Some of the upgrades needed were to fix the drainage system in the shallow end of the pool and to repair the membrane in the kiddie pool. The total cost of the work was estimated at just over $44,000. A portion of that cost has been covered through grants that the town had applied for. With that work done, the pool began being filled with water on Tuesday, May 17. At this time, the proposed opening day of Monday, June 6 will go ahead as planned. 

Heritage designation revoked

A building known as ‘The Castle’ has lost its designation as a municipal heritage site. The structure, located at 344 Main Street, has been deteriorating for several years and had previously been declared unfit for habitation by Manitoba Health.

While the building and the site are privately owned, Town Council has attempted to work with the owner about the situation, but to no avail. The revoking of the heritage designation allows the Town to move forward with clearing the property of the structure.