Quality water priority for regional council candidate

Penny Gaylor wants to be Kapiti's next representative on the Wellington Regional Council.

Penny Gaylor, a Kapiti candidate for the Wellington Regional Council, says ensuring good quality water is a key priority for her.

She said the regional council was responsible for monitoring the water quality and flow of 55 sites in the region.

"Being vigilant about what's going on in these areas is very important," her statement said.

"While I am very proud to have served on a council [Kapiti Coast District Council] that established a long-term award-winning water supply system, there's never room for complacency when it comes to water.

"The picture emerging from Havelock North shows how little the public and many local politicians know about what's needed to make sure clean, safe water comes out of the tap.

"Our national groundwater resources are valued at $8 billion but few of us know anything about the relationship between our 200 aquifers and our streams, rivers and bores.

"We know even less about the wide range of organisations that regulate, deliver and monitor our water supply. While this is reportedly New Zealand's worst water contamination crisis, it's by no means the first. Queenstown, Auckland, Ashburton, Waikato and Te Aute College have all had outbreaks since 1993 and Ministry for the Environment figures estimate 18,000 cases of waterborne illness every year.

"What's happened in Havelock North could happen elsewhere so, voters need to choose people capable of exercising good governance over water.

"Last year a Wellington Water report showed that fewer than 75 per cent of freshwater sites in Wellington city met water quality standards.

"This shouldn't be a blame game. Staff and elected representatives on district and regional councils need to work together to make sure systems are compliant and scientifically robust. Assets of the council controlled organisation,Wellington Water Company, are valued at $550 million, so elected representatives need to do their homework and get their heads around the science, engineering, economics and management of water systems."