Water flowing at fountain again
Irving Caldwell could not wait until the official re-opening of the Buick St fountain.
The 81-year-old began filling his container before Mayor Ray Wallace had said a few words to mark the occasion.
‘‘I prefer this water to make a nice cup of tea with,’’ he said with a grin.
The popular Petone fountain closed last month after a contamination scare.
Wellington Water had to treat Lower Hutt’s drinking water while experts hunt down the source of E.coli.
The fountain and another one in central Lower Hutt were shut down, as there was no effective way of treating the water.
The water is valued for being chemical free and there is normally a steady stream of people filling plastic containers.
Although the investigation is ongoing, Wellington Water has reopened the fountain using a UV unit to treat the water.
Wallace said public safety was a priority and he was ‘‘confident’’ UV treatment would work against E.coli and bugs such cryptosporidium campylobacter.
Caldwell is a regular at the fountain and said he was pleased to see it flowing again.
He joked he would be able to add it to his Irish whisky.
The city council hopes that the central Hutt fountain will reopen by the middle of next month. as giardia, and