FLUORIDATION OF WATER

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28657, 6 August 1958, Page 11

FLUORIDATION OF WATER

Riccarton Outlay Could Be Costly Suppliers of fluoridation equipment for municipal water supplies have informed the Riccarton Borough Council that fluoridation" of the borourh supply would probably be difficult and expensive. Letters from the suppliers were received by Hie council On Monday. An Auckland firm of water purification engineers, which had been approached bv the council previously, asked for copies of plans of existing pumping stations. underground reservoirs distribution system and stand-by reservoir so it could make an appraisal of the situation; but also said that it felt an extensive and costly survey of the hydraulic conditions would be a pre-requisite to the submission of proposals. "With the information at present at our disposal we do not think that an economical, accurate or efficient fluorine dosing system can be devised to meet the very varied hydraulic conditions that exist in the council's present water supply,” the letter from the firm savs. However, it might be possible at comparatively small cost to arrange for fluoridation on the inlet to the four underground reservoirs instead of on the nine pump discharges into the system, the letter adds. A reply from a Wellington engineering company runs along similar lines to the Auckland letter. The complexity of, the supply and potential difficulties of fluoridation are discussed and application of fluoride to reservoirs is also suggested. The company says it will endeavour to visit the borough as soon as possible. The Riccarton branch of the Labour Party wrote suggesting that if the council favoured fluoridation a poll of the residents be taken. The council, which has not yet decided whether to fluoridate the water supply or not, did not discuss the correspondence.