Tauranga fluoride debate: Fluoride-free water supply a ‘waste of time’ - campaigner

Tauranga City Council is yet to decide how it will provide non-fluoridated water to residents. Photo / File

Tauranga residents will not have access to a public supply of non-fluoridated water for at least another few months, but a fluoride-free advocate says the move would now be a waste of time.

The city’s water has been fluoridated since October 24 this year following an order by the director-general of health.

If Tauranga City Council did not comply with the order it faced a $200,000 fine plus fines of $10,000 per day if non-compliance continued.

Council staff were asked by councillors to investigate options for a non-fluoridated water supply.

Councillors were presented with a report outlining options at meeting last week but decided more work was needed before deciding on a way forward.

Fluoride Free Tauranga advocate Robert Coe said providing a fluoride-free water supply now was a waste of time.

“The horse has already bolted. Those of us who choose not to drink fluoridated water have already figured out what we have to do.”

Robert Coe asked the council to "stop the madness" and not fluoridate Tauranga's water at a Tauranga City Council meeting in August. Photo / Alisha Evans

Coe buys bottled drinking water. A 15-litre container of water cost around $10 and lasted him more than a week so “it wasn’t a lot of money” he said.

“I’m paying water rates so I shouldn’t have to buy drinking water.”

People chose not to drink fluoride for a variety of reasons, but their reasons didn’t matter, they should have a right to choose, Coe said.

Mayor Mahé Drysdale said the city’s reticulated water supply was being fluoridated as a result of a legally enforceable directive by the director-general of health.

“Anyone who feels their rights have been infringed needs to take this up with the Government.”

The fluoridation directive first made by then director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield in 2022 said he had considered the scientific evidence and was “satisfied that community water fluoridation is a safe and effective public health measure that significantly reduces the prevalence and severity of dental decay”.

It has been continued by current director-general of health, Dr Diana Sarfati, who in September, denied the council’s request for a deadline extension.

Director-general of health Dr Diana Sarfati. Photo / Mark Mitchell

In February 2024, a High Court judgement directed the director-general of health to assess whether each of the 14 directions issued in July 2022 was a justified limit on the right of persons in those districts to refuse medical treatment. That right is provided for in section 11 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.

Sarfati this month reconfirmed the directions issued to 14 local authorities to fluoridate one or more of their water supplies.

She wrote to the local authorities confirming she had reconsidered the directions in light of section 11 of the Act and considered each was a justified limitation on the right.

Tauranga City Council staff’s recommended option for providing non-fluoridated water was a communal water supply in the Western Bay of Plenty near the city border.

The estimated cost of setting up the supply point was $30,000 plus a yearly ongoing cost of $5000, according to the report.

Access for Tauranga would be via a metered communal tap, with the water usage then charged back to Tauranga City Council.

A non-fluoridated water supply could be provided for Tauranga residents in the Western Bay of Plenty. Photo / Mead Norton

Only two of Western Bay of Plenty’s eight water supplies are required to be fluoridated (Athenree and Wharawhara). The rest will remain non-fluoridated.

Conversations with Western Bay of Plenty District Council about the possibility of providing a communal water source had occurred but further work was needed, the report said.

This would include identifying potential locations, looking at traffic management and safety, what infrastructure was needed and the cost of it, and confirming arrangements to charge-back water usage to Tauranga City Council.

Other options included having a fluoride removal plant with an estimated set-up cost of $614,000 and operational costs of $24,300 a year.

The estimated start-up cost for supplying treated water from a bore was from $815,000 to $1.1m with operational costs between $1.1m and $1.4m a year.

Providing treated rainwater would cost $558,000 to set up and a yearly ongoing cost of $23,800.

Having a tanker delivery of non-fluoridated water at a public collection point would cost $560,000 to set up then $34,900 yearly.

Tauranga mayor Mahé Drysdale said the options for non-fluoridated water needed to be affordable, accessible and practical. Photo / David Hall

At last week’s meeting, Drysdale said he was “underwhelmed” by the report and the options given.

The direction the council gave staff was to find a good option that didn’t cost the earth, he said.

Drysdale questioned why a communal tap in the Western Bay of Plenty would cost $30,000 to install with an ongoing cost of $5000 per year.

Water Services manager Peter Bahrs said the council would have to provide the design, connection to a water supply, a dispenser, stormwater management as well as the cost of installing it all.

Drysdale said he wanted a long-term option that was “reasonable.”

If the council were to provide multiple supply points in the Western Bay it could cost upwards of $100,000, he said.

“I’m not sure that is value for money for our ratepayers.”

Dysdale wanted to see alternatives for a non-fluoridated water supply that were accessible, affordable and practical.

The council asked staff to explore all accessible and affordable options to supply un-fluoridated water and report back to them in February 2025.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.