Canterbury health bosses have defended the state of the region's drinking water but admit more work needs to be done to protect it from contamination.
John Youngson, the technical manager of the Canterbury District Health Board's drinking water unit, said careful monitoring was needed to ensure pollution did not affect Christchurch's water supplies.
"Christchurch water currently has no chlorine in it. If the community wants to keep it that way, they have to help," said Mr Youngson, who has spent several weeks in China advising local authorities there on drinking water supplies.
The state of the country's water supplies has been in the spotlight since a Marlborough toddler, Blake Bruning, contracted E. coli 0157 several weeks ago. Although Blake recovered after three weeks, the bacteria have caused kidney failure and death overseas.
- NZPA
Worries over dirty water
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