A controversial project to add fluoride to the Bellingen shire’s public water supply will begin in December.

Six years ago the Bellingen council surveyed residents to see if they wanted fluoridated water and more than 70 per cent of those responding said ‘no’.

But the New South Wales Department of Health has now approved the Shire’s dosing plants and instructed the council to start adding the chemical to its water supply.

The council says from December 1, fluoride will be added to water supplies for Dorrigo and the seaboard towns of Urunga, Repton, Mylestom, Raleigh and Fernmount.

It concedes the move is likely to be unpopular with some.