Act helps cyberbully crackdown
Why are you still chlorinating? What do health authorities say? What is the history of positive E.coli test results in comparison to this year? How long will the aquifer water be chlorinated for? Why didn’t you shut the public fountains the first two time
A Horowhenua man who used social media to elicit nude photos from pre-teen girls is one of 22 cases prosecuted under a new act.
The Harmful Digital Communications Act was passed in July 2015, which meant civil and criminal action could be taken against harmful online behaviour.
Information released under the Official Information Act shows 22 cases were prosecuted under the new act between November 2015 and October 2016.
Seven of these resulted in imprisonment, three in home detention, 10 in community sentences, one led to a fine and one is to come up for sentence if called upon.
NetSafe legal advisor Ben Thomas said they supported the act and it gave them more power as an approved agency. The civil element to the act, which had been introduced in November, 2016, was the biggest change for them.
It gave them the power to approach online agencies, like Trade Me and Facebook, and work with them about any harmful comments on their forums.
It also meant NetSafe could approach and contact the people who were making the comments.
Thomas said this meant they could provide long-term remedies for online behaviour that caused emotional distress but it wasn’t at a level where there could be criminal prosecution.
This meant in some lower level cases they could mediate to get a resolution for the people involved. ‘‘NetSafe really sees this as a real positive step.’’
Nationwide for the 12-month period to September 2016, police said 154 people were charged for causing harm by posting digital communication. Of those, six were from Manawatu, with nine in the Central District region.
The highest amount were charged in Tasman (24) and Canterbury (27), while the lowest was in Northland, with only one charge.
One of those Manawatu cases involved Brandon Kimura-Gregory, 24, who was sentenced in in July 2016 for two charges of having indecent communications with a young person. His offending involved him using Instagram Chat to talk to two people online with one a 12-year-old girl from Kansas and another a police officer pretending to be a 12-year-old girl.
The Ministry of Justice said the act was created to acknowledge the devastating impact cyberbullying.
Cybercrime unit spokesman Detective Sergeant Greg Dalziel said the new act filled a gap for investigators. It also meant police could work closer with NetSafe.
Adead seagull that somehow got into the Waterloo Pumping Station once famously contaminated Lower Hutt’s drinking water.
That was in 1991. The more recent source of contamination still has experts scratching their head.
Lower Hutt residents have long been proud of the water that comes from the Waiwhetu Aquifer.
Aquifers are under pressure from development and contamination all over the world, but Lower Hutt’s water supply has always been regarded as pristine.
That was until three recent positive tests for E.coli, which could point to a major problem
Although the latest test found no trace of the nasty stomach bug, chlorine is now being added to the water. Two popular artesian wells are also closed.
An investigation into the source of the contamination is expected to take many months but one intriguing theory is that the November earthquake caused the problem.
The aquifer runs underneath Lower Hutt and whenever there is major work, such as a new building or a new bridge, there is always a concern about its impact on the aquifer.
Once an aquifer is compromised by seawater or contamination, the quality of the water quickly deteriorates and it is almost impossible to reverse. That is why there is so much concern about the Waiwhetu Aquifer.
Former GNS scientist Jim Cousins said the earthquake was a possible cause of the contamination.
It takes a year for the water to travel through the underground gravels from Taita to Waterloo, where it is pumped out for drinking.
It is the process of soaking through the gravel that cleans the water of bugs and bacteria.
The presence of E.coli suggested the contamination was recent, which could mean a newly-formed crack in the aquifer, Cousins said.
‘‘That would be a serious worry amongst the water supply people.’’
In October 2015, GNS scientist Dr Uwe Morgensterm reported that he had successfully dated the water in the aquifer. Although it had been assumed the water was safe to drink, his research confirmed its safety.
Greater Wellington Regional Council senior environmental scientist Douglas Mzila said people generally did not understand what a valuable asset the aquifer was.
Scientists were puzzled about the source of the contamination and he predicted it would take a lot of detailed work to pinpoint the cause.
He was aware of overseas research that showed large quakes had damaged aquifers. ‘‘That is not to say that has happened here but there are studies that show earthquakes can have an impact.’’
The aquifer has been well managed over a long period of time and although the E-coli finding is yet to be explained, the water quality remained good, Mzila said.
But with chlorine being added to Lower Hutt’s drinking water, The Dominion Post asked Hutt City Council some questions about what is going on. ‘‘We are seeing a trend of increased bacteria activity in the aquifer which, together with the recent positive E.coli indicator test, we are treating as a signal for further investigation. We’re exercising a high level of caution and are continuing to chlorinate the water we take from the aquifer while evidence is gathered around why this is happening. Public safety is our No 1 priority, which means we have to chlorinate as a precaution.’’ ‘‘Regional Public Health is satisfied with the measures put in place to ensure the water is safe and advise there is no need to boil it now.’’ ‘‘In the last five months, we’ve had three positive E.coli results in Lower Hutt. These tests are a sign that further testing is needed. In all three cases, further tests came back negative. However, two of these recent positive results have come from the water source, not the distribution network. Before December 2016, we hadn’t ever had a positive E.coli result from the aquifer source. More specifically, there is also an increasing number of total coliforms (indicator bacteria) being found in the source water. This is an indication that something has changed within the aquifer.’’ ‘‘This depends on the results of Wellington Water’s investigations. These investigations are expected to take a number of months to complete and the water sourced from the aquifer will remain chlorinated during this time. We are seeing a trend of increasing bacteria activity across the aquifer which, together with the recent positive E.coli indicator test, we are treating as a signal for further investigation. We’re exercising a high level of precaution and have closed the public fountains as they can’t be chlorinated. They will remain closed while Wellington Water investigates.’’ ‘‘Only recently has the number of total coliforms found in the aquifer water been increasing. This, plus the third positive E.coli result in five months, led to the decision to keep chlorinating the Lower Hutt water supply and to close the fountains.’’ ‘‘Yes, the tap water has been, and remains safe, to drink.’’ ‘‘A decision on the permanent chlorination of Lower Hutt’s aquifer water has yet to be made. This decision depends on the result of Wellington Water’s investigations and further discussions between Regional Public Health, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Hutt City Council and Wellington Water.’’ ‘‘Wellington Water has been carrying investigations into the aquifer since the earthquake. These investigations will take a number of months.’’ ‘‘No. If your water has a chlorine taste, try putting the water in a container or jug in the fridge (this helps the chlorine dissipate). Boiling the water also helps take the chlorine taste out of the water. You may find that using a water filter that uses carbon filtration helps.’’ ‘‘No. Havelock North had a number of unwell residents (that was traced to the water supply), while we have none. The elevated bacterial level in our aquifer water is an indicator that we need to investigate and we are taking a precautionary approach by chlorinating the water supply.’’ ‘‘Our focus is on investigating the positive E.coli test results and the increased bacterial activity in the source water. There are no plans to change the current fluoride status in Petone and Korokoro.’’