Chlorine not needed for safe water
Mandatory chlorination for New Zealand’s drinking water is not grounded in health evidence, the Christchurch City Council claimed as it unveiled plans to fight being forced to treat supplies.
The revelation was made in the council’s draft submission to the Government’s Water Services Bill, which is the legislation the new national water watchdog will enforce when it comes into law.
Under the new laws, councils will be ordered to treat drinking water with chlorine, but they can apply for an exemption.
Christchurch City Council’s draft submission, signed by mayor Lianne Dalziel, said the council is able to provide safe drinking water without the need for chlorination.
It intends to seek an exemption. Dalziel told The Press that with a proper risk management plan in place, there would be no need for chlorine.
The city council’s three waters boss, Helen Beaumont, said the Government was treating chlorine as a silver bullet, ‘‘whereas it’s not the only way to deliver safe water’’.
Deputy mayor Andrew Turner, who oversees the council committee that will sign off the draft submission tomorrow, said Christchurch would be a good candidate for an exemption from chlorine.
‘‘One size does not fit all,’’ he said.
The submission said the council would prefer a risk-based approach to water supplies, where each council would meet water safety plans, instead of the nationwide blanket chlorination opted for by the new regulator.
‘Not supported by the health evidence’
Submissions on the new water services bill are open until March
2 and will be considered by the Government’s health select committee. The council’s submission cites a study it commissioned in
2018 which found the Netherlands, where 85 per cent of water is unchlorinated, had lower rates of disease related to water supplies than the UK and the USA, which of both have mandatory chlorination.
That determination was made by a Dutch engineering consultancy, engaged by New Zealand consultants GHD, who were working for the city council.
The council’s submission also notes unchlorinated water has been delivered without issue in Christchurch for many years.
‘‘The requirement of the bill for residual chlorination in all supplies, unless an exemption is obtained, is not supported by the health evidence,’’ the submission states. The new water regulator, which was announced in 2019, was created in response to the fatal campylobacter outbreak in Havelock North in 2016.
How a chlorine exemption could work for Christchurch
Dalziel said the bill in its current form said little about the process around an exemption from mandatory chlorine.
The bill states that for a council to get an exemption it must comply with a drinking water safety plan on an ongoing basis.
‘‘We are doing everything within our power to comply with the requirements of our water services plan, which we feel should be sufficient evidence of our ability to deliver,’’ she said.
The council’s draft 10-year budget, which is due to go out to consultation next month, states unchlorinated water is a ‘‘major priority’’. The council has proposed spending $836m on water infrastructure upgrades in the next 10 years.
‘‘We are doing everything within our power to comply with the requirements of our water services plan, which we feel should be sufficient evidence of our ability to deliver.’’ Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel