239 days ago

Sickness, boiled water and another hit for Queenstown businesses

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Otago News

Thousands of New Zealanders are drinking water at risk of carrying the same parasite that is causing sickness and disrupting business in Queenstown.

Drinking water providers installed barriers to neutralise or eliminate protozoa such as cryptosporidium and giardia. The barrier was usually either UV equipment or a fine mesh.

Despite legislation requiring protozoa barriers to be in place in New Zealand since 2014, the water supply drawn from the apparently pristine Lake Wakatipu and feeding central Queenstown did not have one.

The cryptosporidium outbreak was confirmed by September 18 and the Queenstown Lakes District Council quickly imposed a boil water notice in the town. Ongoing testing had failed to reveal a source of the outbreak, but the water supply was considered the most likely.

The council predicted it could be December before a protozoa barrier was in place and the boil water notice was lifted.

Water regulator Taumata Arowai had been assessing water supplies across the country to ensure they had protozoa barriers in place, prior to the Queenstown outbreak.

On Thursday, it said 84 drinking water supplies did not have a protozoa barrier in place, affecting more than 310,000 New Zealanders - 295,000 of those in the South Island.

It put the 27 councils involved on notice to have a plan and funds locked in to fix their drinking water supplies by June next year.

Putting the barriers in place could cost anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars to millions, and it was money the councils would have to find.

Read reporter Debbie Jamieson's full story here.

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6 hours ago

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5 days ago

Keep yourself protected against Covid

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6 days ago

As voted by you New Zealand

Yvette Williams Retirement Village

Ryman is proud to be recognised as New Zealand’s Most Trusted Brand in Aged Care & Retirement Villages once again! So we want to say THANK YOU Aotearoa, for your continued trust and support. Together, we’ll continue building vibrant communities where everyone can thrive.

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