Chlorine for resort’s water this summer
Kaiteriteri’s drinking water will be chlorinated this summer, to minimise contamination risks in the popular holiday spot.
Tasman District Council’s engineering services committee voted yesterday to chlorinate the Riwaka-Kaiteriteri water supply scheme, beginning on December 1 and finishing on March 31, 2019.
The recommendation was made in a report by senior water quality officer Gillian Bullock and utilities manager Mike Schruer.
‘‘There’s nothing to stop someone illegally tapping into it or damaging the pipeline through property, and it may take a while to realise that,’’ Schruer said.
Once a potential water problem was identified, laboratory results often took 24 hours to confirm contamination, he said.
‘‘Within a few hours, it can affect a lot of people, so that’s the challenge we’ve got.
‘‘When it comes to people’s health, you don’t wait for something to happen before you do something – we see this as a risk, and we’re recommending that we manage that risk.’’
As well as requesting chlorination over the summer period, the report also outlined the possibility
‘‘Within a few hours, [contamination] can affect a lot of people.’’ Mike Schruer, Tasman District Council utilities manager
that the council may have to permanently chlorinate all schemes to meet new Ministry of Health directives.
A government inquiry was sparked by a 2016 gastro outbreak in Havelock North. Some 5500 people – about 40 per cent of the Havelock North population – became ill in August 2016 as a result of campylobacter in the water supply.
Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne supported the recommendation, saying it was ‘‘a pragmatic approach’’, particularly in light of the large summer holiday influx.
‘‘I know in Richmond whenever there is a risk, chlorination is on from time to time, and so that again gives people confidence that they’ve got safe drinking water.’’
Kempthorne said a short-term solution was appropriate, given that central government had yet to make a decision about which body would oversee new drinking water regulations.
However, Councillor Tim King questioned the logic of the summer chlorination to manage the risk of a potentially contaminated water supply.
‘‘Whether it’s 10,000 people over Christmas or 300 people that live there all the time, it seems a little arbitrary to say, ‘You can have unsafe water but the people who come here on holiday can’t’.
The council has 15 water treatment plants, and 11 of these are already permanently chlorinated. Riwaka-Kaiteriteri and Richmond have temporary chlorination facilities installed, while Upper Takaka and Motueka have none.
Council engineering services manager Richard Kirby said $22 million allocated in the council’s Long Term Plan would help its water treatment plants comply with potential drinking water standards arising from inquiry recommendations.
Kirby said that as a further measure, upgrading or replacing the current timber tanks at Kaiteriteri would be looked at in the near future. ‘‘The water itself is fine and meets the requirements – the concern we have is the contamination through the timber tanks and through the rest of the reticulation.’’
He said any decision to implement permanent chlorination would require appropriate consultation with the community.