Source: Radio New Zealand
Supplied / Watercare
A boil-water notice for thousands of Auckland homes is still in force after E. coli was found.
The notice was put in place for parts of Hillsborough, Mt Roskill, Royal Oak and Three Kings on Monday after routine water sample testing showed traces of E coli.
About 7500 households and businesses were affected.
Watercare has taken eight new samples within the boil-water zone and another 13 from nearby.
All show no E. coli, it said on Tuesday afternoon.
Watercare said the most likely cause for the earlier positive result is an issue with one sample tap which has been replaced and will tested again.
The notice will lift if that next sample is normal, with Watercare saying it would give another update on Wednesday morning.
Water tankers remain available 24-7 at two locations.
Watercare chief operations officer Mark Bourne earlier said all other testing in the area showed normal results, and the decision was made to protect public health while investigations continued.
“Typically we’re taking about 40 samples throughout the networked area of Auckland each day. Those samples are then analysed for a range of parameters. One of those parameters is E coli.”
Watercare said people in the affected area should use boiled tap water or store bought bottled water for drinking, cleaning teeth, making ice, washing dishes and preparing food.
“All we need to do is literally boil [water] in an electric jug, and then if you want to drink it cool, let it cool down.”
Bourne said any presence of E coli was concerning.
“It can cause stomach upset and diarrhoea and the like… that’s why we’ve taken this precautionary approach.”
Bourne said Watercare was investigating how E coli could have possibly entered the water supply.
“Part of our rapid response yesterday evening and overnight was we’ve undertaken investigations of the local reservoir that supplies the area, and we’ve walked all of the upper reaches of the water supply pipelines.”
Two public water tankers were set up at 113 Duke Street, Big King Reserve, and Hillsborough Park carpark, Carlton Street.
Full maps of the affected areas were on the Watercare website.
Watercare apologises
Watercare has apologised for the impacts of the boil water notice.
Mark Bourne from Watercare told Checkpoint he understands the disruption the boil water notice caused, and he is “truly sorry”.
But Bourne said it is important to put public health protection first.
He said the sample tap appears to be the smoking gun, but tests on Wednesday will confirm that.
The boil-water notice will lift if the test is normal.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
