An end to Martinborough's water woes permanently?
South Wairarapa District Council is planning to install a manganese extraction plant this summer in an important step towards providing clean, clear, safe and secure drinking water to Martinborough, for the long term.
This follows two separate boil water notices issued earlier this year when Martinborough town water supply tested positive for E. coli.
Chlorination is included in a multi-barrier approach to protecting drinking water supplies across New Zealand, including all other Wairarapa towns, as recommended following the Havelock North water crisis.
The current chlorination arrangements are temporary because the town is being supplied by only one bore, the one with the lowest levels of manganese. The addition of chorine to water with high levels of naturally occurring manganese can discolour the water.
South Wairarapa District Council Chief Executive Harry Wilson says, “Protecting public health and the resilience of the town’s water supply is our highest priority. Removing the manganese allows for permanent chlorination, which is the most tried and tested measure to ensure safe drinking water.
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
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52.5% Human-centred experience and communication
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14.7% Critical thinking
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30.1% Resilience and adaptability
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2.7% Other - I will share below!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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