By WAYNE THOMPSON
Waitakere City is calling for assurances that last February's tainted drinking water scare in West Auckland won't happen again.
Retailer EcoWater, which distributes to 160,000 West Aucklanders, is unhappy with explanations from Watercare Services Ltd since the algal bloom outbreak that shut down three of the four dams feeding West Auckland.
One of the dams is still recovering from the outbreak which resulted in musty tasting and smelly water entering the public supply.
EcoWater says that in other circumstances the algae could have released toxins into the bulk water supply.
It is backed by the Waitakere City Council, which on Thursday resolved to seek assurances from Watercare that local water would not be at risk from algal effects.
The council also wants to know the action Watercare has taken, or intends to take, to remove the risk to the supply of algal hazards.
"In the event of another incident there needs to be a much better contingency plan so all six operators in the regional network can work together," said the city's general manager of water services, Bill Larsen.
He said that in February it took five days from the start of the incident to identify it and assess its impact on public health.
This was far too long and the need for a joint effort to improve the contingency plan was agreed at a meeting convened by the medical officer of health, Dr Donald Campbell. He was disappointed by Watercare's refusal to contribute to the review group effort, and its cost of $18,000.
Watercare spokesman Owen Cook said he did not understand Waitakere's continual requests for more information.
"We have given them all we know. The councils are our owners so there is no way we can withhold information from them."
Watercare believed it handled the incident in a professional and responsible way and felt that the existing contingency plan would succeed if all the partners stuck to agreed protocol.
During the February incident, he said, Waitakere and Metrowater had contradicted efforts to assure people that the water was safe to drink.
Dr Campbell said he favoured modifications to the plan.
The chairman of the Watercare Shareholders Group, Dr Bruce Hucker, said the group believed there were lessons to learn from the incident.
There was also room to improve relationships and this was being pursued.
Don't give us tainted drinking water again, says city
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.