Still vigilant: It's not just water under the bridge

Tracey Chatterton is weary of all the water woes, but still just as wary when she pours a glassful. Photo/Duncan Brown

I'm starting to get weary of water woes.

Sometimes I run the kitchen tap and find myself looking closely at the flow into the sink.

It's nice and clear and no longer smells of chlorine.

But I still wonder - is it clean?

I pause for a second, before putting my trust in the authorities and taking a big gulp of my glass.

Unfortunately it took New Zealand's largest water-borne disease and more than 5000 people to get sick for authorities to sit up and reassess how our drinking water is monitored.

Since the Havelock North outbreak we have E.coli detected in a Napier reservoir check and now in the Waimarama water supply.

Hastings District Council issued a press release on Saturday asking Waimarama residents to boil their water before drinking it as tests earlier that day showed low levels of E.coli.

Now that was a prompt response to an abnormal water test.

The council also chlorinated the Waimarama water supply. Staff worked overnight to flush the chlorine through the system - they ran a tap outside each house until chlorine was detected.

Napier City Council also responded quickly when E.Coli was detected in the Enfield Rd reservoir. The water was chlorinated until tests returned clear.

The boil water notice remains in place for Waimarama despite preliminary results from six sites coming back clear yesterday.

The council delivered water to places where large groups were staying, including the marae.

Further water tests results are expected in the coming days.

Clean drinking water is a basic service and we need to be told as soon as it has been compromised.