Council fluoridation for Kerikeri and Kaitāia to go ahead

Fluoridation of the council’s Kerikeri and Kaitāia water supplies will proceed if the Director-General of Health agrees to extend the compliance deadline to next year.

The decision to request an extension to comply was made by the council under public exclusion during its 10 April meeting. This followed a workshop held by elected members to investigate the financial and legal implications of following (or not) the Director-General of Health’s July 2022 Direction that 14 local authorities fluoridate specified drinking water supplies.

At the workshop, a preliminary design for standalone fluoridation rooms for the Kerikeri and Kaitāia water supplies was presented, as well as tender documents to enable installation. The containerised rooms use 5kg canister sodium fluoride dosing systems. The design had been approved by Manatū Hauora Ministry of Health, which confirmed it would fully fund the capital cost of works, estimated to be around $2.8 million.

As part of the agreement, Far North District Council (FNDC) will be required to meet maintenance costs, as well as ongoing operational costs – estimated to be $110,000 annually for Kerikeri and $129,000 annually for Kaitāia.

With the preliminary design now being finalised, FNDC has requested an extension of its compliance date from 30 June 2024 to 30 June 2026. If the extension is approved, FNDC will no longer be in a position of non-compliance with the direction to fluoridate.

A previous request for an extension to the deadline for implementing the fluoridation of drinking water in Kaitāia and Kerikeri was declined by Dr Sarfati, the Director-General of Health in June 2024. However, Dr Sarfati did request FNDC collaborate closely with the Public Health Agency to develop a plan for complying with the statutory requirements and that compliance dates would be reconsidered once a plan is agreed upon. More information about the fluoridation direction can be found here