A fresh Ministry of Health report has revealed Havelock North's drinking water supply failed a test for bacteria at least a month before August 2016's campylobacter outbreak. Photo / file
A fresh Ministry of Health report has revealed Havelock North's drinking water supply failed a test for bacteria at least a month before August 2016's campylobacter outbreak. Photo / file
Concerns were raised about bacteria in Havelock North's drinking water supply at least a month before last August's campylobacter outbreak.
A new document released by the Ministry of Health reveals Havelock North's drinking water failed to pass a bacterial standard as part of an annual compliance test.
The Ministry's "Annual Report on Drinking-water Quality 2015-16" analysed water quality between a timeframe of July 1, 2015 and June, 30 2016, measuring compliance for all registered drinking-water supplies in New Zealand serving populations of more than 100 people.
The data and analysis in the report was supplied to the Ministry by Crown science entity the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), which specialises in science relating to people and communities.
Inside the 122-page document, it's recorded the water supply to the 11,623 "large" population of Havelock North failed to meet a bacteria standard. The report does not state the exact date within the July-June testing window when the Havelock North took place.
The ESR operations research analyst who led the report, David Wood, said he did not know the exact date of the Havelock test either, but the bacterial test was normally aimed at catching E. coli.
Scientists measure E. coli to infer the risk of people contracting campylobacteriosis.
"The bacterial one is testing for E. coli, usually. To meet the standard, there has to be 95 per cent certainty..." Wood said.
"The reason we test for that is it's an indicator of faeces in the water which gets to the potential there may be pathogenic material in the water."
Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule at a water crisis press conference on November 28, 2016. Photo / file
Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said he was aware of two positive E. coli tests for the Havelock North region between July 1, 2015 and June, 30 2016.
"We had two incidents in one year. The first was in September 2015... And then in May 2016 a water pipe was cut in Havelock North and there was a contamination in that and we treated it," Yule said.
Yule forwarded an email from the Ministry, which advised of the annual report being released in advance.
"The Report is being provided to you as there may be some interest in the performance of the Havelock North Drinking water supply. You will see that the Report includes an assessment of the Havelock North water supply for the period 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016. This is around six weeks before the bacterial contamination of the water supply affected an estimated 4500 people," the Ministry email said.
"The Havelock North supply did show it failed to meet the bacterial requirements of the Standards as E.coli was found in supply samples during routine monitoring. Hastings District Council responded to the event by introducing short-term chlorination and reconfiguring supply sources so had appropriately responded to the transgression. At the time of the disease outbreak in August 2016, the supply had reverted to its normal operation (ie, was unchlorinated)."
Costs tied to the August 2016 contamination of Havelock North's water supply have hit nearly $3.5 million, with a formal inquiry launched .
The contamination led to 5000 residents becoming ill with gastroenteritis and has been linked with three deaths.
An estimated $3,448,211 has been spent by the Hawke's Bay District Health Board and Hastings District and Hawke's Bay regional councils.
