Water quality

Image of water droplet in a puddle of water.

We provide high quality and safe drinking water to our community.

Our water comes from local dams, bores and rivers and goes through a full treatment process.

We test it at our accredited laboratory to meet the Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand. It is also tested at local supply points.

Please let us know if you have any concerns about the taste, odour or appearance of your drinking water.

We have a legal duty to provide water that looks and tastes acceptable to our community.

Report a concern about water quality

If you're unhappy with how we have dealt with a water quality concern you can make a complaint to New Zealand’s water services regulator - Taumata Arowai.

Taumata Arowai website (taumataarowai.govt.nz)

Run your taps first to remove heavy metals

The Ministry of Health advises flushing a cup of water from your kitchen tap each morning to remove any heavy metals.

This includes all households, whether on public or private water supply.

This is because most drinking water in New Zealand is plumbosolvent, meaning it can dissolve small amounts of metals, such as lead and copper in your pipes and taps.

Fluoridation

The Director General of Health has issued a directive for us to add fluoride to our water supply in the Bream Bay and Whangārei water supply areas.

Ministry of Health funding has helped with the costs of making this change.

Construction is complete and the system will be capable of fluoridation of these water supply areas by February 2025, in line with the directive.

Fluoride survey

In March 2024, we carried out a phone survey to get an indication of the community's views on fluoridation.

Results of that survey can be viewed here:

Fluoride Survey Results – March 2024(PDF, 156KB)

Council notice of motion

At the full Council meeting held on Thursday 28 November 2024, Council passed the following motion:

That the Council:

Resolves to NOT add fluoride to the Whangārei District’s water supplies as required by the directive from the Ministry of Health (MOH);
This decision is based on recent court rulings and research that question the effectiveness, safety and legality of fluoridation;
That the Mayor and the Chief Executive write to the Ministry of Health, the Minister of Health and the coalition Government advising them of this decision.

Whangarei District Council Meeting Agenda – Thursday 28 November 2024

Get more information about community water fluoridation:

Ministry of Health community water fluoridation key messages and Q&As(PDF, 190KB)

We’ll keep you updated here and on our other media platforms before we start adding fluoride to the water.

Drinking water standards

The Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand set the acceptable levels for a range of contaminants in drinking water. They are based on guidelines set by the World Health Organisation.

Taumata Arowai website