Fluoride
Waukesha Water Utility
Fluoride occurs naturally in surface and groundwater and is also added to drinking water by many water systems. Read More.
Fluoride has been promoted as a chemical that reduces dental cavities. Yet it is now well-established that fluoride primarily exerts its protective effects through topical mechanisms, such as sodium fluoride in toothpaste and mouthwash. In contrast, long-term ingestion of fluoride in water increases dental fluorosis, which includes mottling, pitting and weakening of the teeth. EPA's maximum legal limit is set at 4 parts per million (ppm) to prevent skeletal fluorosis, a condition where bones become brittle and more susceptible to fractures, although these effects may occur at lower doses.
Even fluoride levels of 0.7 ppm, the amount of fluoride in drinking water recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service, can result in too much fluoride for bottle-fed babies. EWG recommends that caregivers mix baby formula with fluoride-free water. The National Toxicology Program is investigating the potential for low doses of fluoride to alter thyroid function and childhood brain development.
Samples
Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)
Samples exceeding
health guidelines
Testing results - average by year
| Year | Average result | Samples taken | Detections | Range of results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 0.607 ppm | 31 | 31 | 0.360 ppm - 0.760 ppm |
| 2015 | 0.651 ppm | 28 | 28 | 0.420 ppm - 0.760 ppm |
| 2016 | 0.700 ppm | 24 | 24 | 0.590 ppm - 0.800 ppm |
| 2017 | 0.645 ppm | 31 | 31 | 0.370 ppm - 0.770 ppm |
| 2018 | 0.694 ppm | 24 | 24 | 0.580 ppm - 0.810 ppm |
| 2019 | 0.690 ppm | 24 | 24 | 0.581 ppm - 0.860 ppm |
ppm = parts per million
State and national drinking water standards and health guidelines
EPA Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL) 4 ppm
ppm = parts per million
All test results
| Date | Lab ID | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-01-07 | 115406001 | 0.534 ppm |
| 2014-01-07 | 115406001 | 0.740 ppm |
| 2014-02-04 | 118686001 | 0.431 ppm |
| 2014-02-04 | 118686001 | 0.670 ppm |
| 2014-03-04 | 122212001 | 0.486 ppm |
| 2014-03-04 | 122212001 | 0.690 ppm |
| 2014-03-26 | 776754 | 0.390 ppm |
| 2014-03-26 | 776756 | 0.540 ppm |
| 2014-04-02 | 126119001 | 0.557 ppm |
| 2014-04-02 | 126119001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2014-05-07 | 784426 | 0.540 ppm |
| 2014-05-07 | 784420 | 0.560 ppm |
| 2014-05-07 | 784423 | 0.560 ppm |
| 2014-05-13 | 133083001 | 0.530 ppm |
| 2014-05-13 | 133083001 | 0.690 ppm |
| 2014-06-03 | 137382001 | 0.586 ppm |
| 2014-06-03 | 137382001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2014-06-11 | 796101 | 0.360 ppm |
| 2014-06-11 | 796104 | 0.450 ppm |
| 2014-07-01 | 143018001 | 0.594 ppm |
| 2014-07-01 | 143018001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2014-08-05 | 149991001 | 0.616 ppm |
| 2014-08-05 | 149991001 | 0.740 ppm |
| 2014-09-16 | 158090001 | 0.597 ppm |
| 2014-09-16 | 158090001 | 0.760 ppm |
| 2014-10-07 | 162739001 | 0.661 ppm |
| 2014-10-07 | 162739001 | 0.750 ppm |
| 2014-11-11 | 168453001 | 0.609 ppm |
| 2014-11-11 | 168453001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2014-12-02 | 171262001 | 0.605 ppm |
| 2014-12-02 | 171262001 | 0.750 ppm |
| 2015-01-13 | 176056001 | 0.595 ppm |
| 2015-01-13 | 176056001 | 0.630 ppm |
| 2015-02-03 | 178468001 | 0.596 ppm |
| 2015-02-03 | 178468001 | 0.680 ppm |
| 2015-03-03 | 182259001 | 0.636 ppm |
| 2015-03-03 | 182259001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2015-03-10 | 847850 | 0.550 ppm |
| 2015-03-10 | 847852 | 0.620 ppm |
| 2015-03-11 | 847854 | 0.580 ppm |
| 2015-04-07 | 187319001 | 0.597 ppm |
| 2015-04-07 | 187319001 | 0.740 ppm |
| 2015-05-05 | 192195001 | 0.607 ppm |
| 2015-05-05 | 192195001 | 0.760 ppm |
| 2015-06-02 | 197903001 | 0.659 ppm |
| 2015-06-02 | 197903001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2015-07-07 | 205282001 | 0.622 ppm |
| 2015-07-07 | 205282001 | 0.750 ppm |
| 2015-08-04 | 210213001 | 0.608 ppm |
| 2015-08-04 | 210213001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2015-09-01 | 215570001 | 0.601 ppm |
| 2015-09-01 | 215570001 | 0.760 ppm |
| 2015-09-29 | 886381 | 0.420 ppm |
| 2015-10-06 | 222782001 | 0.618 ppm |
| 2015-10-06 | 222782001 | 0.750 ppm |
| 2015-11-03 | 227420001 | 0.644 ppm |
| 2015-11-03 | 227420001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2015-12-01 | 230986001 | 0.601 ppm |
| 2015-12-01 | 230986001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2016-01-05 | 234826001 | 0.641 ppm |
| 2016-01-05 | 234826001 | 0.750 ppm |
| 2016-02-02 | 238423001 | 0.646 ppm |
| 2016-02-02 | 238423001 | 0.780 ppm |
| 2016-03-02 | 242311001 | 0.630 ppm |
| 2016-03-02 | 242311001 | 0.790 ppm |
| 2016-04-19 | 250205001 | 0.630 ppm |
| 2016-04-19 | 250205001 | 0.800 ppm |
| 2016-05-24 | 257112001 | 0.614 ppm |
| 2016-05-24 | 257112001 | 0.780 ppm |
| 2016-06-13 | 260363001 | 0.618 ppm |
| 2016-06-13 | 260363001 | 0.740 ppm |
| 2016-07-08 | 264860001 | 0.624 ppm |
| 2016-07-08 | 264860001 | 0.760 ppm |
| 2016-08-16 | 273062001 | 0.630 ppm |
| 2016-08-16 | 273062001 | 0.780 ppm |
| 2016-09-07 | 276423001 | 0.615 ppm |
| 2016-09-07 | 276423001 | 0.740 ppm |
| 2016-10-25 | 286146001 | 0.645 ppm |
| 2016-10-25 | 286146001 | 0.800 ppm |
| 2016-11-08 | 288665001 | 0.642 ppm |
| 2016-11-08 | 288665001 | 0.780 ppm |
| 2016-12-14 | 293588001 | 0.590 ppm |
| 2016-12-14 | 293588001 | 0.780 ppm |
| 2017-01-04 | 295184001 | 0.529 ppm |
| 2017-01-04 | 295184001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2017-02-03 | 298413001 | 0.661 ppm |
| 2017-02-03 | 298413001 | 0.750 ppm |
| 2017-03-14 | 304541001 | 0.652 ppm |
| 2017-03-14 | 304541001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2017-03-28 | 980079 | 0.590 ppm |
| 2017-03-28 | 980085 | 0.670 ppm |
| 2017-03-28 | 980082 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2017-04-18 | 310794001 | 0.627 ppm |
| 2017-04-18 | 310794001 | 0.750 ppm |
| 2017-05-02 | 986365 | 0.500 ppm |
| 2017-05-02 | 986362 | 0.620 ppm |
| 2017-05-08 | 314959001 | 0.593 ppm |
| 2017-05-08 | 314959001 | 0.770 ppm |
| 2017-05-31 | 994541 | 0.370 ppm |
| 2017-05-31 | 994538 | 0.460 ppm |
| 2017-06-01 | 319243001 | 0.609 ppm |
| 2017-06-01 | 319243001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2017-07-14 | 329226001 | 0.565 ppm |
| 2017-07-14 | 329226001 | 0.740 ppm |
| 2017-08-16 | 336707001 | 0.561 ppm |
| 2017-08-16 | 336707001 | 0.670 ppm |
| 2017-09-14 | 342526001 | 0.566 ppm |
| 2017-09-14 | 342526001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2017-10-30 | 351723001 | 0.630 ppm |
| 2017-10-30 | 351723001 | 0.760 ppm |
| 2017-11-13 | 354930001 | 0.632 ppm |
| 2017-11-13 | 354930001 | 0.770 ppm |
| 2017-12-11 | 359352001 | 0.629 ppm |
| 2017-12-11 | 359352001 | 0.760 ppm |
| 2018-01-16 | 364075001 | 0.592 ppm |
| 2018-01-16 | 364075001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2018-02-09 | 366271001 | 0.580 ppm |
| 2018-02-09 | 366271001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2018-03-19 | 372302001 | 0.637 ppm |
| 2018-03-19 | 372302001 | 0.740 ppm |
| 2018-04-12 | 376350001 | 0.666 ppm |
| 2018-04-12 | 376350001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2018-05-22 | 384461001 | 0.667 ppm |
| 2018-05-22 | 384461001 | 0.800 ppm |
| 2018-06-18 | 390176001 | 0.653 ppm |
| 2018-06-18 | 390176001 | 0.770 ppm |
| 2018-07-19 | 396786001 | 0.638 ppm |
| 2018-07-19 | 396786001 | 0.780 ppm |
| 2018-08-10 | 400771001 | 0.744 ppm |
| 2018-08-10 | 400771001 | 0.780 ppm |
| 2018-09-17 | 408928001 | 0.609 ppm |
| 2018-09-17 | 408928001 | 0.760 ppm |
| 2018-10-19 | 415461001 | 0.652 ppm |
| 2018-10-19 | 415461001 | 0.690 ppm |
| 2018-11-19 | 420877001 | 0.585 ppm |
| 2018-11-19 | 420877001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2018-12-04 | 422956001 | 0.615 ppm |
| 2018-12-04 | 422956001 | 0.810 ppm |
| 2019-01-10 | 428057001 | 0.621 ppm |
| 2019-01-10 | 428057001 | 0.810 ppm |
| 2019-02-04 | 430558001 | 0.608 ppm |
| 2019-02-04 | 430558001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2019-03-11 | 435408001 | 0.657 ppm |
| 2019-03-11 | 435408001 | 0.860 ppm |
| 2019-04-12 | 441389001 | 0.621 ppm |
| 2019-04-12 | 441389001 | 0.750 ppm |
| 2019-05-08 | 445286001 | 0.658 ppm |
| 2019-05-08 | 445286001 | 0.810 ppm |
| 2019-06-14 | 452322001 | 0.642 ppm |
| 2019-06-14 | 452322001 | 0.770 ppm |
| 2019-07-23 | 460010001 | 0.641 ppm |
| 2019-07-23 | 460010001 | 0.760 ppm |
| 2019-08-05 | 462443001 | 0.632 ppm |
| 2019-08-05 | 462443001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2019-09-17 | 471634001 | 0.589 ppm |
| 2019-09-17 | 471634001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2019-10-02 | 475912001 | 0.606 ppm |
| 2019-10-02 | 475912001 | 0.780 ppm |
| 2019-11-04 | 480774001 | 0.594 ppm |
| 2019-11-04 | 480774001 | 0.790 ppm |
| 2019-12-09 | 485985001 | 0.581 ppm |
| 2019-12-09 | 485985001 | 0.650 ppm |