Water (Fluoridation) Act 1985
| Year | 1985 |
Water (Fluoridation) Act1985
1985 CHAPTER 63
An Act to make provision with respect to the fluoridation of water supplies.
[30th October 1985]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Fluoridation of water supplies at request of health authorities.
(1) Where a health authority have applied in writing to a statutory water undertaker for the water supplied within an area specified in the application to be fluoridated, that undertaker may, while the application remains in force, increase the fluoride content of the water supplied by them within that area.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above, an application shall remain in force until the health authority, after giving reasonable notice to the statutory water undertaker in writing, withdraw it.
(3) The area specified in an application may be the whole, or any part, of the area or district of the authority making the application.
(4) Where, in exercise of the power conferred by this section, the fluoride content of any water is increased, the increase may be effected only by the addition of one or more of the following compounds of fluorine—
hexafluorosilicic acid (H2 SiF6 );
disodium hexafluorosilicate (Na2 SiF6 ).
(5) Any health authority making arrangements with a statutory water undertaker in pursuance of an application shall ensure that those arrangements include provisions designed to secure that the concentration of fluoride in the water supplied to consumers in the area in question is, so far as is reasonably practicable, maintained at one milligram per litre.
(6) Water to which fluoride has been added by a statutory water undertaker in exercise of the power conferred by this section (with a view to its supply in any area) may be supplied by that or any other statutory water undertaker to consumers in any other area if the undertaker or undertakers concerned consider that it is necessary to do so—
(a ) for the purpose of dealing with an emergency, or
(b ) in connection with the carrying out of any works (including cleaning and maintenance) by any of them.
2 Power to vary permitted fluoridation agents.
(1) The Secretary of State may by order amend section 1(4) of this Act by—
(a ) adding a reference to another compound of fluorine; or
(b ) removing any reference to a compound of fluorine.
(2) The power to make orders under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
3 Continuity of existing fluoridation schemes.
(1) Where, in pursuance of arrangements entered into by a statutory water undertaker before 20th December 1984—
(a ) a scheme for increasing the fluoride content of water supplied by the undertaker in any part of England and Wales was in operation immediately before that date; or
(b ) work had been begun by the undertaker, before that date, for the purpose of enabling such a scheme to be brought into operation;
the undertaker may, while the conditions mentioned in subsection (2) below are satisfied, operate the scheme.
(2) The conditions are that the arrangements under which the scheme operates require—
(a ) fluoridation to be effected only by the addition of one or more of the compounds of fluorine mentioned in section 1(4) of this Act, and
(b ) the concentration of fluoride in the water supplied to consumers to be maintained, so far as is reasonably practicable, at one milligram per litre.
(3) Where a statutory water undertaker is operating a fluoridation scheme by virtue of this section—
(a ) subsection (6) of section 1 of this Act shall apply in relation to...
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