Authorities face sea of questions
Gastro bug outbreak
They came in their droves to the Baptist church on the edge of town last night to find out how the evil got into their water.
About 300 people arrived to the sound of tinkling piano over the speakers hanging from the ceiling of the huge Riverbend Bible Church, just outside the village.
They came to hear from the authorities as to how their water flowed with poison and what was going to be done about it.
About 5200 of the village’s 14,000 people were affected by the bug, which somehow made its way into the water supply earlier this month.
On stage at the front of the church sat the 12 disciples; three from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, four from Hawke’s Bay District Health Board, four from Hastings District Council, and MC for the evening, former Napier MP Chris Tremain.
The district council and mayor Lawrence Yule apologised, again, for what had happened and discussed how water might be supplied in future.
The regional council outlined its investigations and said the contamination appeared to have come from near the bores, and ‘‘certainly not from the Tukituki River’’.
DHB chief executive Kevin Snee described how the contamination was spotted quickly by his staff.
It was a largely civil meeting and mostly remained on topic, with just the odd person raising their voice or wanting to discuss issues beyond the immediate problem.
Most of those who attended were elderly and the biggest laugh came when Tremain said the next question was to come from ‘‘the man with grey hair’’.
There were plenty of beefs: how did the tests not pick up the bug sooner, why do we grant resource consents to foreign water bottling plants when we can’t get clean water ourselves, and how are we going to ensure a reliable supply of water in future.
All attracted a wave of nodding and a few ‘‘hear hears’’, but the beef that struck the biggest chord was the way the contamination was communicated. This was done by the district council and the DHB at 6.40pm on August 12, via social media and a media release.
A man called David put it best when explaining that he and his wife, who are in their 80s and both fell ill, knew nothing of the contamination until they were told by their neighbours ‘‘and someone trying to sell us a water purifier’’.
He asked why no-one put a notice in the couple’s letterbox, especially when the supermarkets seem to be able to do so on a daily basis.
Carol Winters, of Age Concern in Havelock North, said much the same thing.
She had been contacted by many elderly people who did not use the internet or electronic media and, given the large number of elderly residents in the village, it seemed a poor way of communicating.
Yule did not help matters when he responded by saying there was a lot of new technology that made communicating better, such as a new Red Cross app.
That attracted a lot of grumbling and head shaking by those who had no idea what an app was.
But, most of those who attended left saying they felt better informed and they looked forward to the outcome of the government inquiry.