Baltimore lowers fluoride in city water amid supply shortage

Baltimore has temporarily lowered fluoride in its drinking water from about 0.7 milligrams per liter to 0.4 milligrams per liter, a change that affects every customer served by the city system, including households in Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Howard County.

Myth: Baltimore was walking away from fluoridation. Fact: the Department of Public Works said the cut was a supply response tied to limited hydrofluorosilicic acid, the compound used to fluoridate water, and not a change in treatment standards or water safety. The adjustment began after the city announced it Monday, April 14, and officials said the lower dose will stay in place until supplies are replenished and the shortage eases.

The change was made at the Ashburton and Montebello filtration plants, where the city said the lower target would help conserve the limited chemical supply. DPW Director Matthew Garbark said the agency had been speaking with its vendor for weeks, a sign Baltimore had been trying to manage the problem before the public announcement. The city also said there are no required minimum fluoride levels in drinking water and that the water will continue to meet state and federal standards.

Baltimore’s move did not happen in isolation. WSSC Water, which serves Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, announced a similar temporary reduction a week earlier, on April 7, at its Potomac and Patuxent filtration plants. City and local reports linked the shortage to broader supply-chain disruptions affecting a key supplier in Israel, along with conflict-related shipping and production problems in the Middle East.

For families, the real issue is not water safety but oral health. Community water fluoridation has been part of American public health for nearly 80 years, according to the CDC, and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research says 0.7 mg/L is the standard level. The American Dental Association says fluoridated water is one of the safest and most cost-effective ways to prevent cavities, which makes any reduction meaningful for children and other residents who are more vulnerable to tooth decay.

Households were not told to do anything differently, and the city said the water remained safe. For now, Baltimore’s tap water is still treated and compliant, but the protective fluoride dose is running lower until the supply chain catches up.