Councillors debate fluoride

Hamilton City Council is to decide today whether to put fluoride back into the city's water supply.

A report with options was to be discussed at a full council meeting.

The options were based on factors such as background, previous decisions, new information and legal issues.

The options are:

(a) To keep the water supply fluoride-free;.

(b) To recommence it, or

(c) To have the city's main water supply fluoridated and provide somewhere for people to get unfluoridated water if they want it.

Option (c) has two possibilities. One is to provide a source of water with no added fluoride at the water treatment plant.

That option is not recommended by staff as it is considered costly to implement - estimated at $200,000-$300,000 - and would be technically and operationally challenging.

It is also believed to add risk to compliance with drinking water standards.

A second option, estimated to cost about $10,000-$15,000 plus ongoing operational costs, is to provide a public unfluoridated supply of drinking water deionising technology (water cooler type facility) which would provide about one litre of unfluoridated water per minute.

The staff report covers the previous consultation and decision-making processes the council has been through.