Fluoride
Stoughton Waterworks
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | N/A | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| 2014 | 0.738 ppm | 28 | 28 | 0.0770 ppm - 2.70 ppm |
| 2015 | 0.682 ppm | 26 | 26 | 0.568 ppm - 0.767 ppm |
| 2016 | 0.675 ppm | 24 | 24 | 0.545 ppm - 0.750 ppm |
| 2017 | 0.656 ppm | 28 | 28 | 0.0940 ppm - 0.750 ppm |
| 2018 | 0.690 ppm | 24 | 24 | 0.594 ppm - 0.750 ppm |
| 2019 | 0.690 ppm | 24 | 24 | 0.592 ppm - 0.758 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-01-22 | 117200001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2014-01-22 | 117200001 | 0.723 ppm |
| 2014-02-24 | 120685001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2014-02-24 | 120685001 | 0.718 ppm |
| 2014-03-05 | 773168 | 0.0770 ppm |
| 2014-03-05 | 773162 | 0.130 ppm |
| 2014-03-05 | 773165 | 0.600 ppm |
| 2014-03-05 | 773171 | 2.70 ppm |
| 2014-03-17 | 123569001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2014-03-17 | 123569001 | 0.722 ppm |
| 2014-04-21 | 128346001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2014-04-21 | 128346001 | 0.796 ppm |
| 2014-05-27 | 135199001 | 0.675 ppm |
| 2014-05-27 | 135199001 | 0.680 ppm |
| 2014-06-19 | 140398001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2014-06-19 | 140398001 | 0.760 ppm |
| 2014-07-23 | 147387001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2014-07-23 | 147387001 | 0.756 ppm |
| 2014-08-14 | 151505001 | 0.740 ppm |
| 2014-08-14 | 151505001 | 0.769 ppm |
| 2014-09-23 | 159240001 | 0.680 ppm |
| 2014-09-23 | 159240001 | 0.723 ppm |
| 2014-10-14 | 163727001 | 0.690 ppm |
| 2014-10-14 | 163727001 | 0.820 ppm |
| 2014-11-12 | 168227001 | 0.650 ppm |
| 2014-11-12 | 168227001 | 0.815 ppm |
| 2014-12-10 | 172237001 | 0.582 ppm |
| 2014-12-10 | 172237001 | 0.630 ppm |
| 2015-01-14 | 175838001 | 0.694 ppm |
| 2015-01-14 | 175838001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2015-02-18 | 180286001 | 0.579 ppm |
| 2015-02-18 | 180316001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2015-02-18 | 180316001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2015-02-18 | 180286001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2015-03-11 | 183191001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2015-03-11 | 183191001 | 0.728 ppm |
| 2015-04-08 | 187320001 | 0.568 ppm |
| 2015-04-08 | 187320001 | 0.620 ppm |
| 2015-05-13 | 193579001 | 0.684 ppm |
| 2015-05-13 | 193579001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2015-06-17 | 200646001 | 0.680 ppm |
| 2015-06-17 | 200646001 | 0.767 ppm |
| 2015-07-22 | 207573001 | 0.617 ppm |
| 2015-07-22 | 207573001 | 0.680 ppm |
| 2015-08-12 | 211631001 | 0.636 ppm |
| 2015-08-12 | 211631001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2015-09-24 | 220167001 | 0.668 ppm |
| 2015-09-24 | 220167001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2015-10-14 | 223991001 | 0.696 ppm |
| 2015-10-14 | 223991001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2015-11-18 | 229541001 | 0.666 ppm |
| 2015-11-18 | 229541001 | 0.690 ppm |
| 2015-12-09 | 232159001 | 0.633 ppm |
| 2015-12-09 | 232159001 | 0.680 ppm |
| 2016-01-13 | 235849001 | 0.645 ppm |
| 2016-01-13 | 235849001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2016-02-17 | 240347001 | 0.670 ppm |
| 2016-02-17 | 240347001 | 0.672 ppm |
| 2016-03-09 | 243502001 | 0.545 ppm |
| 2016-03-09 | 243502001 | 0.670 ppm |
| 2016-04-13 | 248794001 | 0.658 ppm |
| 2016-04-13 | 248794001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2016-05-11 | 254052001 | 0.619 ppm |
| 2016-05-11 | 254052001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2016-06-08 | 259399001 | 0.626 ppm |
| 2016-06-08 | 259399001 | 0.690 ppm |
| 2016-07-20 | 267722001 | 0.706 ppm |
| 2016-07-20 | 267722001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2016-08-10 | 271621001 | 0.609 ppm |
| 2016-08-10 | 271621001 | 0.680 ppm |
| 2016-09-21 | 279628001 | 0.690 ppm |
| 2016-09-21 | 279628001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2016-10-12 | 283871001 | 0.654 ppm |
| 2016-10-12 | 283871001 | 0.690 ppm |
| 2016-11-09 | 288453001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2016-11-09 | 288453001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2016-12-15 | 293417001 | 0.618 ppm |
| 2016-12-15 | 293417001 | 0.750 ppm |
| 2017-01-11 | 296082001 | 0.688 ppm |
| 2017-01-11 | 296082001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2017-02-09 | 299486001 | 0.654 ppm |
| 2017-02-09 | 299486001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2017-03-09 | 303465001 | 0.659 ppm |
| 2017-03-09 | 303465001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2017-04-18 | 310788001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2017-04-18 | 310788001 | 0.726 ppm |
| 2017-04-26 | 985398 | 0.170 ppm |
| 2017-04-26 | 985403 | 0.620 ppm |
| 2017-05-02 | 986311 | 0.0940 ppm |
| 2017-05-02 | 986313 | 0.550 ppm |
| 2017-05-11 | 315439001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2017-05-11 | 315439001 | 0.750 ppm |
| 2017-06-14 | 322059001 | 0.647 ppm |
| 2017-06-14 | 322059001 | 0.750 ppm |
| 2017-07-19 | 330048001 | 0.701 ppm |
| 2017-07-19 | 330048001 | 0.750 ppm |
| 2017-08-10 | 335004001 | 0.648 ppm |
| 2017-08-10 | 335004001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2017-09-21 | 344260001 | 0.682 ppm |
| 2017-09-21 | 344260001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2017-10-11 | 348542001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2017-10-11 | 348542001 | 0.722 ppm |
| 2017-11-15 | 354931001 | 0.697 ppm |
| 2017-11-15 | 354931001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2017-12-13 | 359320001 | 0.677 ppm |
| 2017-12-13 | 359320001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2018-01-17 | 363372001 | 0.704 ppm |
| 2018-01-17 | 363372001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2018-02-14 | 367171001 | 0.675 ppm |
| 2018-02-14 | 367171001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2018-03-13 | 371199001 | 0.656 ppm |
| 2018-03-13 | 371199001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2018-04-16 | 376581001 | 0.652 ppm |
| 2018-04-16 | 376581001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2018-05-14 | 382152001 | 0.717 ppm |
| 2018-05-14 | 382152001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2018-06-13 | 388540001 | 0.660 ppm |
| 2018-06-13 | 388540001 | 0.665 ppm |
| 2018-07-16 | 394812001 | 0.696 ppm |
| 2018-07-16 | 394812001 | 0.750 ppm |
| 2018-08-13 | 400769001 | 0.599 ppm |
| 2018-08-13 | 400769001 | 0.680 ppm |
| 2018-09-17 | 408411001 | 0.676 ppm |
| 2018-09-17 | 408411001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2018-10-08 | 413063001 | 0.693 ppm |
| 2018-10-08 | 413063001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2018-11-12 | 419246001 | 0.594 ppm |
| 2018-11-12 | 419246001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2018-12-10 | 423614001 | 0.668 ppm |
| 2018-12-10 | 423614001 | 0.740 ppm |
| 2019-01-14 | 427839001 | 0.654 ppm |
| 2019-01-14 | 427839001 | 0.700 ppm |
| 2019-02-11 | 431045001 | 0.734 ppm |
| 2019-02-11 | 431045001 | 0.740 ppm |
| 2019-03-11 | 434865001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2019-03-11 | 434865001 | 0.758 ppm |
| 2019-04-08 | 439439001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2019-04-08 | 439439001 | 0.721 ppm |
| 2019-05-13 | 445827001 | 0.597 ppm |
| 2019-05-13 | 445827001 | 0.710 ppm |
| 2019-06-10 | 450985001 | 0.601 ppm |
| 2019-06-10 | 450985001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2019-07-08 | 456221001 | 0.592 ppm |
| 2019-07-08 | 456221001 | 0.680 ppm |
| 2019-08-12 | 463139001 | 0.659 ppm |
| 2019-08-12 | 463139001 | 0.720 ppm |
| 2019-09-17 | 471029001 | 0.651 ppm |
| 2019-09-17 | 471029001 | 0.680 ppm |
| 2019-10-07 | 475044001 | 0.682 ppm |
| 2019-10-07 | 475044001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2019-11-11 | 480775001 | 0.668 ppm |
| 2019-11-11 | 480775001 | 0.730 ppm |
| 2019-12-09 | 485305001 | 0.649 ppm |
| 2019-12-09 | 485305001 | 0.740 ppm |