Chlorine plan leaves bad taste in woman's mouth

Rotorua's water supply may be among the lowest rated in the country but Suzanne Mexted-Dykes is adamant she doesn't want her water chlorinated.

She wants residents in the eastern suburbs to have their say before the council moves to treat the water.

Mrs Mexted-Dykes loves drinking Lynmore's chlorine-free water and is staggered by findings which ranks the Eastern supply - and all others in Rotorua - as among New Zealand's worst.

Against mounting pressure from health experts, she wants the Eastern supply to retain its chlorine-free status.

Drinking water in Lynmore and Owhata isn't chlorinated, unlike Rotorua's nine other supplies.

Mrs Mexted-Dykes reckons she can taste the difference and takes tap water from home to work.

The Lynmore woman, who works in a central city souvenir shop, is fiercely protective of the Eastern suburb's water supply and is outraged by a Rotorua District Council report which proposes chlorinating it. Council officers say adding chlorine to the supply would make sure it met strict new health standards by reducing the risk of bacteria and viruses contaminating the water.

But Mrs Mexted-Dykes believes the Lynmore and Owhata community should have its say on the issue first. "Surely it's better to stick with what we have, which hasn't made anyone sick, than change the taste at a cost to the ratepayer."

Grades due for official release in a few weeks reveal all 10 Rotorua supplies have received "E e" - the worst that can be given.

The council's utilities operations manager, Eric Cawte, recommended to district councillors at a recent works committee meeting that they adopt new water treatment processes.

That involves chlorinating all 10 supplies, including Eastern, and applying UV light to the water at its source.

UV light transmitted through water destroys an organism's DNA, rendering it harmless.

However, it does not provide "killing power" to microbes if they enter the distribution system further down the line.

Chlorination provides protection against bacteria and viruses after it is added to water but doesn't guard against giardia or chryptosporidium.

The works committee voted to spend $3.5 million on treating all 10 supplies with UV light and four to three in support of chlorination, including the Eastern supply.

However, councillors Mark Gould and Charles Sturt, later challenged the decision on the grounds the community had not been properly consulted.

The report will be debated again at the full council meeting on June 27.