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Dear Sirs,FLUORIDATION OF DRINKING WATER: Thank you for your emails of 2nd and 13th May 2008 regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. Many of the points you raise relate to the Government's policy on whether or not drinking water should be fluoridated. National policy on drinking water fluoridation is the responsibility of the Department of Health rather than the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), hence the reference by colleague Mr Jheeta to information held on their website. The Inspectorate are not involved in the decision about whether or not a water supply is fluoridated - this decision is made by the local Strategic Health Authority. The content of drinking water legislation is a matter for Defra (the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) which is the parent Government department of the Inspectorate. The Drinking Water Inspectorate is an independent regulator responsible for enforcing the requirements of drinking water legislation. This should perhaps have been more clearly explained in the previous response. I hope this clarification, together with the information provided below answers your query more fully. Regulation of public drinking water Public drinking water is not regulated under food safety legislation as suggested in your email, but there are specific laws relating to drinking water quality. Water companies have a duty to supply wholesome drinking water under the Water Industry Act 1991 (as amended) – “the Act”. The term wholesome is defined by the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2000 (as amended) – “the Regulations”. With regard to fluoride, the Regulations specify that in order to be wholesome public drinking water must not contain more than 1.5 milligrammes of fluoride per litre of water (1.5 mg/l). This figure is based on the requirements of the European Directive on the quality of water for human consumption and also the World Health Organisation’s guideline value for drinking water. The Act allows for drinking water to be fluoridated at the request of the Strategic Health Authority provided certain criteria are met, for example that only specified chemicals are used and (more recently) that the public are consulted before a new fluoridation scheme is introduced. Where drinking water is fluoridated, water companies must also meet the requirements of the Code of Practice on Technical Aspects of Fluoridation of Drinking Water Supplies as published by the Inspectorate in 2005 (see: www.dwi.gov.uk/regs/infolett/2005/info0505.shtm). The requirement for drinking water to contain no more than 1.5mg/l of fluoride applies regardless of whether or not water is fluoridated. The Inspectorate’s records show that there have been no exceedances of the fluoride standard between 1995 and 2007 (inclusive) in South Staffordshire Water’s Hayley Green in which your postcode (B62 0PJ) is situated. The table below shows a summary of the results for fluoride for the last 5 years.