Fluoride

In 1999, the Nevada Legislature passed Assembly Bill 284, requiring the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) to add fluoride to Southern Nevada's municipal water supply beginning in March 2000. A second bill passed by the Nevada Legislature required that the issue of fluoridation be placed on the November 2000 election ballot to determine whether voters wanted municipal fluoridation to continue. In November 2000, Clark County residents voted to continue fluoridation of their municipal water supply.

Low levels of fluoride, about 0.3 milligrams per liter (mg/L), occur naturally in Southern Nevada's water supply. Per regulations developed by the Nevada State Health Division and administered by the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, the SNWA adds 0.5 mg/L of fluoride to bring the level within the required range of 0.7 - 1.2 mg/L in the municipal water supply. These levels are considerably lower than the federal Safe Drinking Water Act limit of 4.0 mg/L and the Nevada secondary standard of 2.0 mg/L.

Lucier Chemical Industries, a Florida-based company, supplies the fluoride, which is produced specifically for water fluoridation.

Based upon average monthly water usage of Southern Nevada water customers, municipal water users pay an average of about 4 cents per month to cover annual fluoridation costs, which total approximately $800,000.

Note: To determine which home filtration systems reduce fluoride, customers should contact the company they purchased the product from or call NSF International at (800) 673-6275. NSF is an independent, not-for-profit organization that certifies the performance of home water-treatment systems and devices.