Fluoride

Tauranga City Council is legally required to deliver on the direction received from the Ministry of Health, under the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021. A recent judicial review of the Ministry of Health fluoridation directions by the High Court has required the Director-General of Health to undertake an assessment of each direction issued in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The judge also decided that the directions remain in place during this assessment. Tauranga City Council is required to continue on fluoridation implementation unless it receives instruction from Ministry of Health to the contrary.

The details about the legal basis for this direction, including the recent High Court judgement and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, is available on the Ministry of Health’s website. Council receives a number of directives from central government which we are legally required to follow. Council has a legal obligation under the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 to comply with the direction to re-introduce fluoride to the water supply.

The Ministry of Health has multiple pieces of evidence and various experts which says its safe.

• Community water fluoridation
• New funding for water fluoridation
• Fluoride Facts
• Fluoridation: an evidence update
• Water fluoridation

The New Zealand Dental Association, Plunket and the Public Health Association of New Zealand support fluoride in water.

See below for other organisations that support it:

Fluoride Facts

The cost of fluoridating the water will come from funding made available from the Ministry of Health and the capital cost is about $3.4 million. The ongoing operating and maintenance costs will be funded by TCC rates, it is estimated the cost of water rates will increase by 0.4% per annum.

Ratepayers can only refuse to pay rates if they have taken the matter to the High Court of New Zealand. In all other cases Council will follow the normal collection process under the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002. If you don’t pay your water rates by the due date, they will increase by a 10% late payment penalty. If rates are unpaid at the end of the rating year, Council will follow normal collection processes, which include receiving payment from your bank if you have a mortgage, or start proceedings which can ultimately end in a rating sale of your property to pay for your rates.

Fluoride is added during the final stages of water treatment. Council is using hydrofluorosilicic acid (HFA, also known as fluorosilicic acid FSA). HFA is supplied as a liquid and is added to the water at a controlled rate, relative to the flow through the treatment plant to achieve a target concentration. HFA is manufactured in New Zealand to meet the standard outlined in the Water New Zealand Good Practice Guide for Fluoridation of Drinking Water Supplies in New Zealand which is based upon the requirements of the Water Services (Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand) Regulations 2022. Currently, fluoride levels in our raw water supply is below detectable limits of approximately 0.1 mg per litre. The direction from the Ministry of Health requires Tauranga City Council to fluoridate at optimal levels between 0.7 parts per million (ppm) and 1.0 ppm, or in the range of 0.7-1.0 mg per litre of drinking water.

The pumps dosing the fluoride are regularly verified and calibrated to make sure they are accurate. Fluoride dosing levels are continuously monitored prior to and leaving the reservoir at the water treatment plant. Each monitoring point has two analysers which work in real time and continuously compare the actual fluoride dose with what is expected. If, at any time, the analyser readings of the fluoride dose is higher or lower than expected, this will alarm and will shut down the treatment plant as needed.

Yes. Fluoride is naturally occurring and can be found all around us in the air, soil, sea and plants/food. Find out more at Ministry of Health website.

Fluoride has no taste or smell so residents will not notice any difference to their drinking water.

No, historically it has been a decision for each Council and their community. Around 60 percent of New Zealanders currently drink fluoridated water. Tauranga City Council is one of 14 councils given the directive to add fluoride.

Tauranga City Council is following a legally enforceable direction by the Director-General of Health, under the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021. Under this direction Tauranga City Council is not obligated to provide fluoride free water. A report about the fluoridation of Tauranga city's water supply went to the 26 August 2024 Council meeting. This report is item 11.1 on the agenda. At this meeting Council authorised staff to complete further investigation of options to provide a non-fluoridated water supply for those who choose it. Staff will return to Council with a report on 9 December 2024 outlining options for a non-fluoridated water supply for those who choose it. This report will provide information on costs, risks and feasibility. Council will then decide on the direction it will follow as to non-fluoridated options for those who choose not to have fluoride in their water. No decision has been made in this regard and this will be subject to the council decision in December. In the meantime, sourcing fluoride free water and the associated costs will not be the responsibility of Tauranga City Council.

There are several types of filters available on the market, including alumina activated filters, reverse osmosis filters, and distillation filters, among others. Each of these filters has different capabilities when removing fluoride from water. We recommend investigating effectiveness of any filter before buying.

New Zealand spring water normally has about 0.1mg per litre. Some bottled water that you buy can be tap water. We recommend that you always check the pack. You can learn more about this at a Consumer article about bottled and tap water.