Treatment
At times the water you drink from the tap can taste different but that does not mean that it's unsafe. Water taste can be affected by temperature, the time the water has been in the pipes, river levels and flood water, and people’s plumbing systems.
General treatment
We’re constantly working to make sure you have a safe and reliable drinking water supply. We treat all our public water supplies in accordance with Drinking water standards for New Zealand, and monitor to make sure it’s safe to drink.
The treatment and operating procedures at our water treatment plants are specially designed to deal with contamination risks and produce safe drinking water. All our water supplies are chlorinated, treated with high-intensity ultraviolet (UV) light, and pH corrected. Some have fluoride added.
We continuously monitor our treatment plants and regularly check the quality of the water that flows to our taps, and take immediate action if something is not right.
Fluoride
To reduce tooth decay, Council adds fluoride to water supplied to the Waikanae, Pararparaumu and Raumati supply zones. Fluoride is not added to the Ōtaki and Paekākāriki water supplies.
The Ministry of Health recommends that for good oral health, the fluoride content for drinking water in New Zealand should be in the range of 0.7–1.0 mg/L. This recommended dosing range is based on advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Water supply sources often contain naturally occurring levels of fluoride. Naturally occurring fluoride levels in Kāpiti's raw water supplies are:
|
Ōtaki |
0.05 mg/L |
|
Hautere/Te Horo |
0.04 mg/L |
|
Paekākāriki |
0.13 mg/L |
|
Waikanae River |
0.08 mg/L |
These naturally occurring fluoride levels are too low for teeth protection.
We add 0.7 mg/L of fluoride to the supply for Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Raumati. A copy of the relevant council report is available at Water Fluoridation Levels (AS-10-989)[PDF 119 KB].
Non-fluoridated water supply points
Non-fluoridated water is available at public supply points at the Ōtaki Visitor Centre and in Paekākāriki Town Centre. See the Non-fluoridated drinking water map for more information.
Look for the official filling point sign, as shown right, at public supply points.
Bottled water labelled purified, demineralised, deionised, distilled or reverse osmosis filtered should also be free of fluoride, or have low levels.
Boiling water does not reduce the fluoride content, and is more likely to increase the concentration in the water.