Rotorua drinking water Photo: Laura Smith
Fluoridation has started this morning in Whangārei after the High Court reserved its decision on a the first of the council's legal challenges against Health Ministry orders.
The Whangārei District Council applied for an injunction in the High Court on Tuesday which would have allowed it to delay the addition of fluoride to the water supply.
However, the judge reserved her decision, which means the council has to start fluoridating in the meantime.
It is not known when the judge's decision will be released.
Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo said if the council's bid for an injunction was successful, it would be able to turn fluoridation off until its main legal challenge could be heard.
The Health Ministry's deadline for fluoridation was not until 28 March, but dosing of the water and "wet testing" of newly installed equipment would have to start today to ensure that deadline was met.
Fluoride would be gradually added to the Whangārei City and Bream Bay water supplies, building up to a concentration of 0.7-1.0 parts per million by the end of the month.
The council had already ordered fluoride for its water treatment plants earlier this month, in case it lost Tuesday's legal challenge or the decision was delayed.
Cocurullo said it was not yet known when the High Court would hear the council's main legal challenge against fluoridation.
The council had asked the court to rule whether it was safe to add hydrofluorosilicic acid to drinking water at the required dose, and whether the Director-General of Health had the legal right to order the council to fluoridate.
During a fractious meeting in Whangārei on Monday, councillors voted to revoke an earlier resolution to defy orders to add fluoride to the water supply.
However, they also voted to stop fluoridation immediately if the council won its bid for a High Court injunction.
Councillor Gavin Benney, who has spearheaded the anti-fluoride fight, said he was disappointed to have to backtrack on last November's vote.
"It's a backwards step, there's no doubt about that, and I'm not happy with it. But to comply with the directive and not break the law, and to be able to pursue our court case, we had to do what we had to do… The battle goes on," he said.
Other councillors were, however, concerned about the potential cost to ratepayers of the fluoride fight.
If the council had not reversed its earlier vote, it could have been forced to pay the full cost of fluoridation equipment, a sum of almost $4.6 million.
It could also have been liable for a fine of $200,000 plus $10,000 per day of continued contravention.
Those costs have likely been averted by the council's decision to proceed, albeit reluctantly, with fluoridation.
Councillor Scott McKenzie said, however, ratepayers still faced hefty legal bills.
As of Monday those stood at about $110,000, and that was before the council's main legal challenge had even started.
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