Weekly fluoride project updates
From April 2022 to September 2022, we worked at pace to restore fluoride at the Te Mārua and Gear Island Water Treatment Plants and to improve the consistency and reliability of fluoride levels at the Wainuiomata and Waterloo Water Treatment Plants.
To keep the public well informed, we published weekly updates throughout this work.
Updates for each water treatment plant can be viewed in the sections below.
Monthly fluoride levels reporting can be found on our monitoring fluoride levels at water treatment plants page. To keep up to date with fluoride outages, sign up to our fluoride monitoring email notifications.
Te Mārua Water Treatment Plant
Weekly project updates
Friday 8 April 2022
Divers & engineers have completed a condition assessment of the damaged baffle curtain. We expect to have repaired the baffle curtain by the end of April.
We have now sourced a more suitable fluoride powder for our equipment.
Started a thorough review of the entire fluoride facility at Te Mārua to ensure that everything is working as it should. This can take time, particularly for equipment / systems that have been off for some time. It is also likely that some of the equipment will need replacing as we work through this process.
We will also be looking at options on whether we should fix and upgrade the current fluoride system or bypass the system with a new standalone one that can be housed in a container.
Friday 15 April 2022
Due to the Easter break and staff absences as a result of COVID, the work on the baffle curtain will now have to be pushed out by a few weeks to ensure we have the resources to undertake this work safely.
Divers will now enter the treated water reservoir in May to remove the damaged sections of the curtain and reinstall the repaired sections. Work to buy a new replacement baffle curtain is underway and we expect to have this in the next couple of months for later installation.
It is important to note that while we are working on the repair and reinstallation of the curtain, we are continuing our work to check the entire operation of the facility. This needs to happen before we can safely turn the facility back on.
We are making progress on our checks and investigation of the entire fluoride facility. This work involves removing the residual fluoride from the equipment and this will take place shortly after Easter. We will also be testing each component to ensure everything is working as it should. This also includes checking the full automation system (computers, software and associated electronic instruments).
We continue to explore the option for a new standalone fluoride facility that can be housed in a container, should our checks and investigations into the current facility find it is unsuitable for switching back on.
Friday 22 April 2022
We’re continuing with our checks and investigation of the entire fluoride facility to ensure everything is working as it should.
We remain on track to have the baffle curtain repaired and reinstalled in May with divers due to enter the treated water reservoir at Te Mārua early next month to remove the damaged sections of the curtain. We expect to have the curtain repaired and reinstalled by mid-May, provided we don’t experience any other delays due to resourcing and staff absences due to COVID.
We continue to explore the option for a new standalone fluoride facility that can be housed in a container, should our checks and investigations into the current facility find it is unsuitable for switching back on. This week the team have started to develop some detailed design requirements for what this would look like.
Last week we engaged external specialist process engineering support to help with the new standalone fluoride facility at the Gear Island Water Treatment Plant. We are also using this resource for our design work at Te Mārua to ensure there’s standardisation and efficiency across our operations, should we decide that a new fluoride facility is the best option.
Friday 29 April 2022
We’re making good progress with our checks and investigation of the entire fluoride facility to ensure everything is working as it should.
While we continue to investigate our current facility, we have made the decision to go ahead with sourcing a new standalone fluoride facility that can be housed in a container and connected up to the Te Mārua Water Treatment Plant or used as a backup should we decide that the current facility can be safely switched back on.
We have started to order components for the new standalone fluoride facility.
We remain on track to have the baffle curtain repaired and reinstalled by mid-May.
Friday 6 May 2022
We’re making good progress with our checks and investigation of the entire fluoride facility to ensure everything is working as it should.
We continue to order components for the new standalone fluoride facility that can be used to replace the current facility or used as a backup if we decide that the current facility can be safely switched back on.
Sections of the damaged baffle curtain has been removed and assessed by the repairers. They have found that the curtain can’t be repaired and needs to be replaced.
We have installed an interim baffle curtain for now and we’re aiming to have a new curtain installed in June.
The baffle curtain work will not impact our timeline for restoring fluoride. Instead, this is dependent on our checks and investigation into the current fluoride facility.
Friday 13 May 2022
We’re continuing our checks and investigation of the entire fluoride facility to ensure everything is working as it should. This will inform whether or not the facility can be safely switched back on.
This week we have decided on the location for the new standalone fluoride facility that will be housed in a container and used to replace the current facility or used as a backup should we decide that the current facility can be safely switched back on.
We will be undertaking some ground investigations in the next few weeks to look at the conditions at the location of the new facility.
We continue to purchase components for the new facility.
Friday 20 May 2022
We are getting close to finalising the design for the new standalone fluoride facility and we are continuing with our ground investigations to look at the conditions in the area where the new facility will be located.
We’re continuing our checks and investigation of the entire fluoride facility to ensure everything is working as it should. This will inform whether or not the existing facility can be safely switched back on while the new standalone facility is being built.
We continue to source and buy components to build the new fluoride facility.
Friday 27 May 2022
We have nearly completed our design for the new standalone fluoride facility.
We have completed our ground investigations to look at the conditions in the area where the new facility will be located, and we’ve engaged a contractor to start the ground works soon.
We’re continuing our checks and investigation of the entire fluoride facility to ensure everything is working as it should. This will inform whether or not the existing facility can be safely switched back on while the new standalone facility is being built.
We continue to source and buy components to build the new fluoride facility.
Friday 3 June 2022
We are getting close to completing our design for the new standalone fluoride facility and continue to source and buy components for the new standalone fluoride facility.
This means if all goes to plan and, provided there are no international supply chain issues affecting the delivery of the components, we aim to have fluoride back in the drinking water at Te Maura in September this year.
The site is being set up to start the ground works for the new standalone facility.
In the meantime, we’re continuing our checks and investigation of the entire fluoride facility to ensure everything is working as it should. This will inform whether or not the existing facility can be safely switched back on while the new standalone facility is being built.
Good progress is being made on the construction of a new baffle curtain and we are expecting this to be ready for installation in a couple of weeks.
Friday 10 June 2022
Ground works have started, and we should have the foundations built for the new standalone fluoride facility in the next few weeks. Our design work is continuing and nearing completion. We continue to source and buy components for the new fluoride facility.
This means if all goes to plan and provided there are no international supply chain issues affecting the delivery of the components, we aim to have fluoride back in the drinking water at Te Maura in September this year.
In the meantime, we still have a few more checks to do on the existing fluoride facility before we can make a decision on whether or not the facility can be safely switched back on while the new facility is being built.
Good progress is being made on the construction of a new baffle curtain and we are expecting this to be ready for installation in a couple of weeks.
Friday 17 June 2022
Ground works for the foundations for the new standalone fluoride facility were a bit hampered this week due to bad weather however this shouldn’t have an impact on the overall delivery timeframe. Our design work is progressing well. We continue to source and buy components for the new fluoride facility.
This means if all goes to plan and provided there are no international supply chain issues affecting the delivery of the components, we aim to have fluoride back in the drinking water at Te Mārua in September this year.
In the meantime, we still have a few more checks to do on the existing fluoride facility before we can make a decision on whether or not the facility can be safely switched back on while the new facility is being built.
The new baffle curtain is being installed in the treated water reservoir this week and this work should be completed on schedule in the coming week.
Thursday 23 June 2022
Progress on the ground works for the foundations for the new standalone fluoride facility were again hampered by bad weather this week. However, we’re still expecting to be on track in terms of the overall delivery timeframe.
Our design work is progressing well. We continue to source and buy components for the new fluoride facility.
The new baffle curtain has been successfully installed in the treated water reservoir this week in line with the project schedule.
Friday 1 July 2022
This week we have completed the ground works for the foundations for the new standalone fluoride facility. We have now started installing the pipes for the new facility and we have completed our design work.
We continue to source and buy components for the new fluoride facility.
Friday 8 July 2022
We are making good progress with installing the pipes for the new facility. We have started building the new facility with the components that we currently have on hand. There are still some key components that we need, and we continue to source and buy these.
Friday 15 July 2022
We are making good progress with installing the pipes and this week we’ve started working on the electrical power supply for the new facility as well. We continue to build the new facility with the components that we currently have on hand. There are still some key components that we need, and we continue to source and buy these.
Friday 29 July 2022
The majority of components for the new fluoride facility have now arrived and, despite some poor weather and the ongoing effects from COVID-19, the team has made good progress with construction.
The container, which the new facility will be housed in and the bulk tank, which will contain the fluoride, have now been built, are onsite, and have been fixed into position.
The team are working hard to make the final piping and electrical connections so that we can begin testing the new facility next week.
Once testing has started, fluoride levels will be steadily bought up to the Ministry of Health target range during August. However, during testing the fluoride facilities may also be turned on and off to allow us to fine tune and make adjustments as required.
We remain on track to have the new facility fully operational in September.
Friday 5 August 2022
The container, which the new facility will be housed in, and the bulk tank, which will contain the fluoride, have now been built, are onsite, and have been fixed into position.
The team are continuing to work hard to make the final piping and electrical connections so that we can begin testing the new facility next week. We have been delayed a little with the effects of COVID and we are still waiting on some remaining components.
Once testing has started, fluoride levels will be steadily bought up to the Ministry of Health target range. However, during this period the fluoride facilities may also be turned on and off to allow us to fine tune and adjust as required.
We remain on track to have the new facility fully operational in September.
Friday 12 August 2022
Testing of the new fluoride facility started this week. This involved running water through the system and checking the controls, which needs to be completed before we start to add fluoride into the drinking water next week.
We will start to add fluoride at low levels first and steadily bring it up to the Ministry of Health target range over the coming month.
During this period the fluoride facilities may also be turned off and on to allow us to fine tune and adjust as required.
We remain on track to have the new facility fully operational in September.
Friday 19 August 2022
We started to add fluoride into the drinking water at Te Mārua this week. The fluoride levels will be ramped up slowly to meet the Ministry of Health target range as testing continues and we work to ensure that the facility is fluoridating reliably.
During this period the fluoride facility may also be turned off and on to allow us to fine tune and make adjustments as required.
We remain on track to have the new facility fully operational in September.
Friday 26 August 2022
Testing of the new fluoride facility is going well with fluoride being added to the drinking water at Te Mārua for most of this week.
The fluoride levels are being ramped up slowly and are nearing the Ministry of Health target range. We’re working to ensure that the facility is fluoridating reliably.
During the testing period the fluoride facility may be turned off and on to allow us to fine tune and make adjustments as required.
We remain on track to have the new facility fully operational in September.
Friday 2 September 2022
Testing of the new fluoride facility has been going well and fluoride levels have been within the Ministry of Health target range for the past week.
Work to optimise the facility will be undertaken to improve the system’s reliability in consistently meeting the required fluoride levels.
Friday 9 September 2022
Testing of the new fluoride facility continues to go well and we have again been within the Ministry of Health fluoride target range all of this week.
Work to optimise the facility was completed, which means we are confident that the facility can reliably meet the required fluoride levels consistently.
Friday 16 September 2022
Testing of the new fluoride facility continues to go well. The system was off for two days this week while we were installing a mechanical component that will improve the system’s resilience.
As a result of this work, the fluoridation levels in the drinking water at Te Mārua have been in the Ministry of Health target range for only some days of the week.
Friday 23 September 2022
Testing of the new fluoride facility is going well.
This week the Te Mārua Water Treatment Plant was shut down periodically in preparation for routine maintenance.
As a result of this work, the fluoridation levels in the drinking water at Te Mārua have been in the Ministry of Health target range for only some days of the week.
Friday 30 September 2022
This week we announced that the new facility is operating and reliably fluoridating the drinking water at Te Mārua within the Ministry of Health target range.
This wraps up our weekly updates on the project. We will still continue our monthly reporting of the fluoride levels from all four of the region’s metropolitan water treatment plants as well as continue to notify the public when fluoride facilities are turned off for maintenance or repairs.
Monthly fluoride levels reporting can be found on our monitoring fluoride levels at water treatment plant page. To keep up to date with fluoride outages, sign up to our fluoride monitoring email notifications.
Gear Island Water Treatment Plant
Weekly project updates
Friday 8 April 2022
Design work for the new system is underway and we are working on purchasing the parts needed for this new system.
Due to global supply issues, we can’t provide a firm timeframe at this stage of when this new system will be in place. Once we know more, we will provide the public with timeframes.
Friday 15 April 2022
We are progressing our design work into a standalone new fluoride facility that can be housed in a container and would bypass the current fluoride facility. We have engaged external specialist process engineering support to help us with this.
We continue to source and buy components to build this new fluoride facility.
Friday 22 April 2022
We are making good progress on our design work into a standalone new fluoride facility that can be housed in a container and would bypass the current fluoride facility.
The project team spent some time onsite this week to develop a preliminary layout for the new facility and look at the best way to connect the new facility to the Water Treatment Plant.
We continue to source and buy components to build this new fluoride facility.
Friday 29 April 2022
We are making good progress on our design work into a new standalone fluoride facility that can be housed in a container and would bypass the current fluoride facility.
This week the project team have undertaken a Hazard during Operability Study, which will ensure the new standalone fluoride facility is safe for our operators to run.
We continue to source and buy components to build this new fluoride facility.
Friday 6 May 2022
We are making good progress on our design work into a new standalone fluoride facility that can be housed in a container and would bypass the current fluoride facility.
This week we have engaged a contractor to help us prepare for the installation of the new standalone facility.
We continue to source and buy components to build this new fluoride facility.
Friday 13 May 2022
We are making good progress on our design work into a new standalone fluoride facility that will be housed in a container and would bypass the current fluoride facility.
This week we have decided on the location for the new standalone fluoride facility, and we will be undertaking some ground investigations in the next few weeks to look at the conditions at the location of the new facility.
Friday 20 May 2022
We are getting close to finalising the design for the new standalone fluoride facility and we are continuing with our ground investigations to look at the conditions in the area where the new facility will be located.
We continue to source and buy components to build this new fluoride facility.
Friday 27 May 2022
We have nearly completed our design for the new standalone fluoride facility.
We have completed our ground investigations to look at the conditions in the area where the new facility will be located, and we’ve engaged a contractor to start the ground works soon.
We continue to source and buy components to build this new fluoride facility.
Friday 3 June 2022
We are getting close to completing our design for the new standalone fluoride facility and continue to source and buy components for the new standalone fluoride facility.
This means if all goes to plan and, provided there are no international supply chain issues affecting the delivery of the components, we aim to have fluoride back in the drinking water at Gear Island in September this year.
The site is being set up to start the ground works for the new standalone facility.
We continue to source and buy components to build this new fluoride facility.
Friday 10 June 2022
Ground works have started, and we should have the foundations built for the new standalone fluoride facility in the next few weeks. Our design work is continuing and nearing completion. We continue to source and buy components for the new fluoride facility.
This means if all goes to plan and provided there are no international supply chain issues affecting the delivery of the components, we aim to have fluoride back in the drinking water at Gear Island in September this year.
Friday 17 June 2022
Ground works for the foundations for the new standalone fluoride facility were a bit hampered this week due to bad weather however this shouldn’t have an impact on the overall delivery timeframe. Our design work is progressing well. We continue to source and buy components for the new fluoride facility.
This means if all goes to plan and provided there are no international supply chain issues affecting the delivery of the components, we aim to have fluoride back in the drinking water at Gear Island in September this year.
Thursday 23 June 2022
Progress on the ground works for the foundations for the new standalone fluoride facility were again hampered by bad weather this week. However, we’re still expecting to be on track in terms of the overall delivery timeframe. Our design work is progressing well. We continue to source and buy components for the new fluoride facility.
Friday 1 July 2022
This week we have completed the ground works for the foundations for the new standalone fluoride facility. We have now started installing the pipes for the new facility and we have completed our design work.
We continue to source and buy components for the new fluoride facility.
Friday 8 July 2022
We are making good progress with installing the pipes for the new facility. We have started building the new facility with the components that we currently have on hand. There are still some key components that we need, and we continue to source and buy these.
Friday 15 July 2022
We are making good progress with installing the pipes and this week we’ve started working on the electrical power supply for the new facility as well. We continue to build the new facility with the components that we currently have on hand. There are still some key components that we need, and we continue to source and buy these.
The standalone facility will be housed in a container, and the container for the Gear Island facility is due to be delivered on site in the next few days.
Friday 29 July 2022
The majority of components for the new fluoride facility have now arrived and, despite some poor weather and the ongoing effects from COVID-19, the team has made good progress with construction.
The container, which the new facility will be housed in and the bulk tank, which will contain the fluoride, have now been built, are onsite, and have been fixed into position.
The team are working hard to make the final piping and electrical connections so that we can begin testing the new facility next week.
Once testing has started, fluoride levels will be steadily bought up to the Ministry of Health target range during August. However, during testing the fluoride facilities may also be turned on and off to allow us to fine tune and make adjustments as required.
We remain on track to have the new facility fully operational in September.
Friday 5 August 2022
The container, which the new facility will be housed in, and the bulk tank, which will contain the fluoride, has been connected to the existing treatment plant, and testing is underway.
Over the month, fluoride levels will be steadily bought up to the Ministry of Health target range. During this period the fluoride facilities may also be turned on and off to allow us to fine tune and adjust as required.
We remain on track to have the new facility fully operational in September.
Friday 12 August 2022
Testing of the new fluoride facility is going well and this week the team has been fine-tuning the performance of the system and slowly ramping up the fluoride levels in the drinking water towards the Ministry of Health target range.
Our operators have also started receiving training on the new system. Work to optimise the facility will continue next week, which will get us closer to maintaining consistent fluoride levels.
Over the coming month we may still see variable fluoride levels (within a safe range) and the facility may need to be turned off and on to allow us to fine tune and adjust as required.
We remain on track to have the new facility fully operational in September.
Friday 19 August 2022
Testing of the new fluoride facility has progressed well and this week we have been able to run the facility’s system continuously. We continue to slowly ramp up the fluoride levels to meet the Ministry of Health target range.
Currently we are meeting 65 per cent of the Ministry’s target range. Next week the team aims to bring the fluoride levels up to 80 per cent of the target range and we will continue to closely monitor the facility’s performance.
The operations team underwent further training this week on the new fluoride facility and system.
We remain on track to have the new facility fully operational in September.
Friday 26 August 2022
Testing of the new fluoride facility is going well and this week we have been able to run the facility’s system continuously for the second week in a row.
We have installed a new automated analyser that will provide real-time information and assurance that the facility is working as it should.
We continue to slowly ramp up the fluoride levels to meet the Ministry of Health target range. Currently we are meeting 80 per cent of Ministry’s target range. We continue to closely monitor the facility’s performance to ensure it is fluoridating reliably.
We remain on track to have the new facility fully operational in September.
Friday 2 September 2022
Testing of the new fluoride facility has been going well and fluoride levels have been within or very close to the Ministry of Health target range much of the past week.
Work to optimise the facility has been completed, which will improve the system’s reliability in meeting the required fluoride levels.
Friday 9 September 2022
Testing of the new fluoride facility is going well and for most of this week the fluoride levels have been within the Ministry of Health target range.
Friday 16 September 2022
Testing of the new fluoride facility is going well. New control software for improving the system’s performance is being developed. When the software is ready, it will be implemented and tested.
The fluoridation levels in the drinking water at Gear Island have been within the Ministry of Health target range for the week.
Friday 23 September 2022
Testing of the new fluoride facility is going well. New control software for improving the system’s performance is being developed. When the software is ready, it will be implemented and tested.
The fluoridation levels in the drinking water at Gear Island have been within the Ministry of Health target range for the week.
Friday 30 September 2022
This week we announced that the new facility is operating and reliably fluoridating the drinking water at Gear Island within the Ministry of Health target range.
This wraps up our weekly updates on the project. We will still continue our monthly reporting of the fluoride levels from all four of the region’s metropolitan water treatment plants as well as continue to notify the public when fluoride facilities are turned off for maintenance or repairs.
Monthly fluoride levels reporting can be found on our monitoring fluoride levels at water treatment plant page. To keep up to date with fluoride outages, sign up to our fluoride monitoring email notifications.
Wainuiomata Water Treatment Plant
Weekly project updates
Friday 8 April 2022
We have made some improvements by replacing some old parts in the control system at the fluoride facility. We will continue with this work over the coming weeks to ensure it is providing a reliable and consistent level of fluoride.
We are increasing our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 15 April 2022
The fluoride facility at Wainuiomata remains operating. However, this week we have been made aware by our plant technicians that the fluoride powder feedscrew (which is a component of the equipment that dispenses the fluoride powder) is increasingly showing signs of wear and tear.
We will be monitoring this situation closely. Should the facility become unreliable we will look at other options and solutions to ensure we can continue fluoridation at this plant.
In the meantime, we are continuing our work to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 22 April 2022
The fluoride facility at Wainuiomata remains operating.
This week we undertook a planned shutdown of the fluoride facility on Thursday for a period of 9.5 hours. During this time, we were not fluoridating from our Wainuiomata Water Treatment Plant, and we posted a notification about this on our network status page.
The shutdown allowed us to do a detailed inspection of the fluoride powder feedscrew (which is a component of the equipment that dispenses the fluoride powder), as this was suspected to be showing signs of wear and tear. We have inspected, cleaned and checked the feedscrew and the calibration on the rest of the feeder equipment before putting the system back into service.
We will continue to monitor this situation closely. Should the facility become unreliable we will look at other options and solutions to ensure we can continue fluoridation at this plant.
We are continuing to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 29 April 2022
The fluoride facility at Wainuiomata remains operating.
Following last week’s inspection of the fluoride powder feedscrew (which is a component of the equipment that dispenses the fluoride powder), the facility is operating well, and we are working to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 6 May 2022
The fluoride facility at Wainuiomata remains operating.
We continue to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 13 May 2022
The fluoride facility at Wainuiomata remains operating.
We continue to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 20 May 2022
The fluoride facility at Wainuiomata remains operating.
We continue to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 27 May 2022
The fluoride facility at Wainuiomata remains operating.
We continue to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 3 June 2022
We are reviewing our maintenance programme and continue to look for ways to improve the reliability of the fluoride facility.
Friday 10 June 2022
We continue to review our maintenance programme and look for ways to improve the reliability of the fluoride facility.
Friday 17 June 2022
The fluoride facility continues to dose and is operating well.
Thursday 23 June 2022
The fluoride facility continues to dose and is operating well.
Friday 1 July 2022
The fluoride facility continues to dose and is operating well.
Friday 8 July 2022
The fluoride facility continues to dose and is operating well.
Friday 15 July 2022
The fluoride facility continues to dose and is operating well.
Friday 29 July 2022
The fluoride facility at Wainuiomata was turned off for two days this week to allow for unfluoridated water to be supplied to Petone and Korokoro while urgent repairs to a bulk water pipe, which normally supplies unfluoridated water to Petone and Korokoro from the Waterloo Water Treatment Plant, were undertaken.
The repair work on the burst water pipe is still ongoing, however fluoride facility was switched back on late Wednesday afternoon in the interest of public health for the wider community.
Friday 5 August 2022
The fluoride facility is on and operating well.
Friday 12 August 2022
The fluoride facility is on and operating well.
Friday 19 August 2022
The fluoride facility is on and operating well.
Friday 26 August 2022
The fluoride facility is on and operating well.
Friday 2 September 2022
The fluoride facility is on and operating well.
Friday 9 September 2022
The fluoride facility is on and operating well.
Friday 16 September 2022
The fluoride facility is on and operating well.
Friday 23 September 2022
The fluoride facility is on and operating well.
Friday 30 September 2022
The fluoride facility is on and operating well.
This is the last of our weekly updates on the project. We will still continue our monthly reporting of the fluoride levels from all four of the region’s metropolitan water treatment plants as well as continue to notify the public when fluoride facilities are turned off for maintenance or repairs.
Monthly fluoride levels reporting can be found on our monitoring fluoride levels at water treatment plant page. To keep up to date with fluoride outages, sign up to our fluoride monitoring email notifications.
Waterloo Water Treatment Plants
Weekly project updates
Friday 8 April 2022
We have made some improvements by replacing some old parts in the control system at the fluoride facility. We will continue with this work over the coming weeks to ensure it is providing a reliable and consistent level of fluoride.
We are increasing our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 15 April 2022
The fluoride facility at the Waterloo Water Treatment Plant remains operating.
As part of our improvement work, we are undertaking a review and investigation of the entire fluoride facility and ensure that it is working reliably.
In the meantime, we are continuing our work to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 22 April 2022
The fluoride facility at the Waterloo Water Treatment Plant remains operating.
As part of our improvement work, we are undertaking a review and investigation of the entire fluoride facility and ensure that it is working reliably.
The project team and our plant technicians have scheduled a shutdown of the fluoride facility for next week to do a thorough check of the fluoride dosing system. During this time, we will not be fluoridating the water at Waterloo. The planned shutdown is expected to take up to 20 hours. We will publish a notification on our network status page once we have a confirmed date for this work.
We are continuing to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 29 April 2022
The fluoride facility at the Waterloo Water Treatment Plant remains operating.
The project team and our plant technicians had initially planned a shutdown of the fluoride facility this week to do a thorough check of the facility, but this has been delayed due to other operational commitments at the Plant. We will reschedule this shutdown as soon as we can.
We are continuing to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 6 May 2022
The project team and our plant technicians are undertaking some planning which will allow us to reschedule a shutdown so we can do a thorough check of the facility.
This was initially planned for last week but had to be delayed due to other operational commitments at the plant. We’re hoping to reschedule the shutdown for later this month but will provide an update once we have a confirmed timeframe.
We continue to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 13 May 2022
The fluoride facility at the Waterloo Water Treatment Plant remains operating.
The project team and our plant technicians continue their planning for a shutdown of the fluoride facility so we can do a thorough check of the facility. We’re hoping to reschedule the shutdown for later this month but will provide an update once we have a confirmed timeframe.
We continue to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 20 May 2022
The fluoride facility at Waterloo remains operating.
The project team and our plant technicians continue their planning a thorough check of the facility. We are going to have to shut down the plant to do that, so we are putting in some work into mimimising the impact and will provide an update once we know when we will do the work and how long it will take.
We continue to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
27 May 2022
The fluoride facility at Waterloo remains operating.
The project team and our plant technicians continue their planning for a thorough check of the facility, which will require shutting down the plant at some stage. We will provide an update once we know when we will do the work and how long it will take.
We continue to increase our supply of spare parts so we can address any maintenance issues as quickly as possible.
Friday 3 June 2022
As part of our improvement work, we have been reviewing and investigating the entire fluoride facility to ensure that it is working reliably.
The project team has now completed their checks and investigation and a plant shutdown is not needed.
Next steps are to use the findings from the investigation and look at ways to improve the reliability of the fluoride facility such as making tweaks to our maintenance programme to ensure everything is working as it should.
Friday 10 June 2022
We are still working through the findings from our recent investigation of the entire fluoride facility to see if we can find ways to improve the reliability of the fluoride facility, such as making tweaks to our maintenance programme to ensure everything is working as it should.
Friday 17 June 2022
We have finalised our review of the maintenance procedures and have increased our maintenance to the annual programme. We have a full shutdown planned in August, to carry out minor renewals and maintenance.
Thursday 23 June 2022
We have a full shutdown planned in August, to carry out minor renewals and maintenance.
Friday 1 July 2022
Planning is underway for a full shutdown of the fluoride facility in August to carry out minor renewals and maintenance.
Friday 8 July 2022
We are continuing with our planning for a full shutdown of the fluoride facility in August to carry out minor renewals and maintenance.
Friday 15 July 2022
Due to COVID staff absences we have had to postpone the shutdown of the fluoride facility at Waterloo. This is now planned for September.
Friday 29 July 2022
We are continuing with our planning to carry out minor renewals and maintenance of the fluoride facility. This will now occur in September due to the impacts of COVID on our operations.
Friday 5 August 2022
We are continuing with our planning to carry out minor renewals and maintenance of the fluoride facility. This will now occur in September due to the impacts of COVID on our operations.
Friday 12 August 2022
We are continuing with our planning to carry out minor renewals and maintenance of the fluoride facility. This is scheduled to occur in late September.
Friday 19 August 2022
Planning for maintenance and minor renewals in September continues.
Friday 26 August 2022
Planning for maintenance and minor renewals in September continues.
Friday 2 September 2022
The fluoride facility is on and operating well.
We are continuing with our planning to carry out minor renewals and maintenance of the fluoride facility. This is scheduled for late September.
Friday 9 September 2022
We are continuing with our planning to carry out minor renewals and maintenance of the fluoride facility. This is now scheduled for October.
Friday 16 September 2022
The fluoride facility at Waterloo was temporarily turned off at the start of the week due to unplanned maintenance. This means that fluoridation levels in the drinking water at Waterloo were only within the Ministry of Health target range for 86 per cent of the time this week.
We are continuing with our planning to carry out minor renewals and maintenance of the fluoride facility. This is now scheduled for October as we plan an appropriate period to shut down the fluoride facility and perform the works.
Friday 23 September 2022
The fluoride facility is on and operating well.
We are continuing with our planning to carry out minor renewals and maintenance of the fluoride facility. This is scheduled for October as we plan an appropriate period to shut down the fluoride facility and perform the works.
Friday 30 September 2022
The fluoride facility is on and operating well.
We are continuing with our planning to carry out minor renewals and maintenance of the fluoride facility. This is scheduled for the first half of October to shut down the fluoride facility and perform the works.
This is the last of our weekly updates on the project. We will still continue our monthly reporting of the fluoride levels from all four of the region’s metropolitan water treatment plants as well as continue to notify the public when fluoride facilities are turned off for maintenance or repairs.
Monthly fluoride levels reporting can be found on our monitoring fluoride levels at water treatment plant page. To keep up to date with fluoride outages, sign up to our fluoride monitoring email notifications.