Region’s grapes free of fire foam chemicals
Grapes in Marlborough tested for chemicals found in firefighting foam have come back clean.
The New Zealand Defence Force has tested grapes grown downstream of Base Woodbourne, west of Blenheim, for chemicals PFOS and PFOA, which had leached into the water supplies of nearby properties.
Vineyard owners asked for the tests after struggling to line up winemakers to buy their crops, but no traces of the chemicals had been found, the Ministry for the Environment confirmed.
Harvesting of grapes for Marlborough’s 2018 vintage is set to start this week.
The results come as clean water advocacy group Water New Zealand calls for all councils to better secure the supply of people’s drinking water.
Water NZ technical manager Noel Roberts said the water contamination near Base Woodbourne showed additional investment was needed to secure water supplies in Marlborough.
Water NZ has been travelling the country outlining some of the lessons learnt from the Havelock North campylobacter outbreak that saw three deaths and 5000 struck down with illness in 2016.
‘‘A lot of the learnings for the public from the Havelock North inquiry is that the groundwater sources aren’t as secure as we were lead to believe and that treatment is required and water supply is not easy,’’ Roberts said.
Last month, test results from properties near Base Woodbourne showed that of the 41 properties tested, 22 tested positive for toxic firefighting foam.
In two cases the amount exceeded safe drinking water guidelines.
The Defence Force launched a second round of tests over a wider area to better gauge the extent of the contamination earlier this month. Those results had not come back yet.
The council tested the municipal water supply for Blenheim properties for a second time on Thursday. It would likely take a few weeks to get the results.
The first round of testing in December showed the supply was clear of chemicals, but the council would continue to test in case it showed up later.
Water NZ scientist Jim Graham said lessons from Havelock North showed all councils needed to chlorinate drinking water. Chlorine would not have been effective against PFOS and PFOA. Safe drinking water should be a given in a developed nation like New Zealand, he said.
‘‘Every member of the public has a right to expect that when they turn on the tap the water is safe. Currently for 20 per cent of us that’s not the case.’’