By Emily Ireland, Local Democracy Reporting
Masterton District Council has urged people storing fluoride-free water from its drinking fountain in Lansdowne to discard it immediately because of a possible E. coli contamination.
The council removed its Manuka St fountain on Friday as a result of a boil water notice in place on the Ōpaki Water Supply, the source for the tap.
E. coli was detected in the supply on September 12 and prior to its removal, the fountain had been closed.
Council group manager of infrastructure Tyler Ross said the supply was managed by the Ōpaki Water Supply Association, not Masterton District Council.
“The future provision of water from this source is dependent on Masterton District Council having complete confidence in the Ōpaki Water Supply operator to guarantee the water’s safety for public consumption,” he said.
“Anyone holding water taken from the fluoride-free tap should discard it immediately and disinfect the containers used.”
The Water Services Authority – Taumata Arowai has advised the community of Ōpaki to take the boil water notice seriously.
Taumata Arowai head of operations Steve Taylor said the authority had been monitoring the Ōpaki supply and had directed the Boil Water Notice must remain in place until water quality was restored.
“Communities deserve to know if their water risks making them sick and know what action to take to stay safe,” he said.
“Right now, there is a very high risk of harm from consuming water from the contaminated supply.
“We strongly advise the community to take this Boil Water Notice seriously and not drink from the supply without boiling the water first until they are officially advised that the Boil Water Notice is lifted.”
Anyone who was experiencing gastro symptoms – stomach cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, fever – was encouraged to go to their healthcare provider or call Healthline for free on 0800 611 116.
“Be sure to let them know if you have been drinking water from the Ōpaki water supply or the Manuka St public tap in Masterton since the end of August,” Taylor said.
“If you have stored water collected from the public tap in that period, please do not use it for drinking water.”
Masterton District Council was one of the first councils to fluoridate its water supply in the mid-1970s but residents have had access to fluoride-free water since 2016, when the council installed its fluoride-free fountain.
The idea of supplying non-fluoridated water came from submissions made to the council’s 2015-2025 Long Term Plan.
The unit cost $5000 to install, with another $5000 spent to connect to the Ōpaki Water Supply.
The Ōpaki Water Supply Association has been delivering drinking water to the Ōpaki community.
It was a private, member-funded scheme, owned and governed by the people it serves.
LDR is local body journalism funded by RNZ and NZ on Air.
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