Mayors in the Wellington region are concerned they’ve been kept in the dark about Wellington Water’s decision to cut fluoride more than a month ago and are demanding a “please explain” from the organisation.
On Wednesday, it was revealed Wellington Water switched off fluoride to the water supply for Wellington city, Upper Hutt and Porirua on February 8 – an area home to more than 300,000 people. It was also revealed the region has had inconsistent levels of fluoridation for the past four years.
The organisation made the decision to turn off the fluoride at two plants after receiving a report that found that the 30-year-old infrastructure was not delivering the correct level of fluoridation and repairs were needed.
Wellington Water’s director of regulatory services, Charles Barker, said fluoride was stopped while the report’s findings were digested. He rejected any suggestion the public should have been informed sooner.
"We believe we did the due diligence to ensure accurate information was provided as quickly as possible," Barker said.
But Porirua mayor Anita Baker said she was "pretty bloody grumpy" after only finding out about the move on Wednesday, and was worried about what it meant for the oral health of her region.
Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy said it raised questions about the ongoing incompetency of Wellington Water, saying it has been "one drama after another".
Wellington mayor Andy Foster said he was "very concerned" and wanted answers for the lack of communication.
The problems aren’t new to Wellington Water, which knew two years ago the fluoride facilities weren't delivering reliable doses.
"We’ve noticed that the plant, as it ages, isn’t dosing accurately. I would stress that we’ve never at any time overdosed fluoride, but what we’ve noticed is it’s been under-fluoridating," Barker said.
The Dental Association said it was "greatly alarmed" to hear the news.
"While we appreciate there are significant concerns about ageing infrastructure, our primary concern is for the dental health of the affected communities," the New Zealand Dental Association's community water fluoridation spokesperson, Dr Rob Beaglehole, said.
"This will impact on the communities of Upper Hutt, Porirua and Wellington, which are communities that are already impacted by oral health inequalities."
It will take six to nine months to repair the water treatment plants and get fluoride back into Wellington’s water.
In the meantime, the association is urging people to use fluoridated toothpaste.
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