Council plans to become class 1 water supplier, bypass treatment rules
Christchurch’s water supply technically leaves 170,000 people at risk of exposure to protozoa, but the city council’s head of Three Waters says residents shouldn’t worry and it has a plan.
The latest update comes as mayor Phil Mauger says a representative from Taumata Arowai, the national water regulator, has agreed to attend an upcoming Christchurch City Council meeting.
Brent Smith, the council’s head of Three Waters, said instead of putting protozoa treatment barriers into its water supply (as requested by Taumatua Arowai, following the recent cryptosporidium outbreak in Queenstown), the council planned to become a class 1 supplier. Reaching the threshold of class 1 status was not achievable for all of the council’s water sources, but could be for most, he said.
Most of Christchurch’s water comes from aquifers (an underground water source). If the city drew that water from a depth of 30m or more, it could meet the water regulator’s class 1 requirements and would not require a UV treatment barrier.
Read reporter Sinead Gill's full story here.
Poll: What could the Christchurch City Council fund if it didn't have to pay GST on rates?
Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger says GST on rates, currently taken by central government, would be better spent locally.
The comments follow an Infometrics analysis that found over $1.1 billion of rates revenue nationwide was collected by the Government in 2022 as GST.
According to Infometrics, $88.5m of that came from Christchurch city ratepayers. It would be enough to save the Christ Church Cathedral from ruin; restore the Dux de Lux seven times over; cover both the Art Centre and Orana Wildlife Park’s request for regular public funding for over 26 years; contribute to light rail in Greater Christchurch; or get the South Library rebuild completed.
Read the full story by reporter Sinead Gill here and share your thoughts in the comments below. (Note: Subscription required. You can still read two free stories a month if you're not a ThePress.co.nz subscriber).
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20.5% Light rail
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5.3% South Library
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41.7% Orana Wildlife Park
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11.3% The Arts Centre
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3.3% Dux de Lux
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13.2% Christ Church Cathedral
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4.6% Something else (share your thoughts in the comments)
Beverley Park Rose Garden theft
Beware everyone if you see some cheap rose bunches for sale anywhere I just saw two white men (one with a matching blue tracksuit) cutting and bagging up every single rose in the Beverley Park Rose garden and hopping on some electric bikes and taking off.
A damn shame everyone isn’t able to enjoy the roses now and a few selfish people have taken it upon themselves to ruin it for everyone.
Do not buy any cheap roses you see for sale, they are stolen.
To those men, I hope your wives and mothers know their Mother’s Day roses are stolen. Shame on you for ruining it for the rest of us.
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