The measurements of the absorption spectrum of pure water in a paper by Pope and Fry [Appl. Opt. 36, 8710 (1997)] have been criticized by Quickenden et al. [Appl. Opt. 39, 2740 (2000)]. These criticisms are answered. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 010.7340, 010.4450, 300.1030, 300.6540, 300.6550.