Heads are yet to roll at Wellington Water, despite a damning report revealing water in the region hasn’t been fluoridated properly for six years.

There has, however, been a new appointment to the water company’s board, after it was found none of the directors had practical or leadership experience in water services.

A review was launched after revelations Wellington Water turned off fluoride at two plants last year without telling the board, councils or residents.

It found fluoride was administered effectively less than 20 per cent of the time at those plants, which supply Upper Hutt, Porirua and Wellington City residents.

The Herald asked Wellington Water whether anyone had lost their job, considering the extent of the failure and, if not, why it was appropriate for those in leadership positions to remain.

Wellington Water Board chairwoman Lynda Carroll said the board’s approach in commissioning the inquiry was not to apportion blame.

“It was to determine what went wrong, how it went wrong and to identify issues, resolve them and deliver on our responsibilities for the future.

“I am confident that the governance and management teams will do so,” she said.

They have accepted “collective accountability” and have already implemented significant change, Carroll said.

“However, there are performance issues that we will address as part of our normal performance management processes.”

The inquiry found Wellington Water had lost sight of the importance of fluoridation in favour of providing safe drinking water.

Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said it was disappointing Wellington has had low and inconsistent levels of fluoridation in the region’s water supply for years.

Print PDF