Chlorine ruling help sought
CHRISTCHURCH: A Christchurch city councillor wants the central government to help reverse a decision to chlorinate the city’s drinking water.
New water regulator Taumata Arowai (TA) recently mandated chlorination in response to 2016’s deadly campylobacter outbreak in Havelock North.
It declined an application for Christchurch to be exempt — saying the city was failing to reach basic standards, let alone those for an exemption.
The main supply, sourced from underground aquifers, had been largely chlorine free apart from a few temporary stints following the Canterbury earthquakes in 2011.
In its draft decision, TA declined two bids made by the council last year to be exempt from the mandate.
It said the risk management plans were not specific enough to the water zone in the application and did not identify risks at an individual bore level, and some upgrades to chlorine infrastructure and bore heads were yet to occur.
The supply also had no primary barrier, such as UV treatment, TA said.
Groundwater scientist Louise Weaver said there were natural filters in Christchurch’s underground aquifer system.
But the water quality would vary across the 156 wells that supplied the city, she said.
Councillor Sam MacDonald wanted central government to intervene.
‘‘The government have given a significant amount of power to an independent regulator, which means that effectively you have unelected officials with a significant amount of influence over people’s everyday lives,’’ he said.
His petition had already received more than 3400 signatures in five days.
Christchurch City Council had invited the chief executive of TA to explain the decision at a public council meeting next month. — RNZ
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