Sickness, boiled water and another hit for Queenstown businesses
Thousands of New Zealanders are drinking water at risk of carrying the same parasite that is causing sickness and disrupting business in Queenstown.
Drinking water providers installed barriers to neutralise or eliminate protozoa such as cryptosporidium and giardia. The barrier was usually either UV equipment or a fine mesh.
Despite legislation requiring protozoa barriers to be in place in New Zealand since 2014, the water supply drawn from the apparently pristine Lake Wakatipu and feeding central Queenstown did not have one.
The cryptosporidium outbreak was confirmed by September 18 and the Queenstown Lakes District Council quickly imposed a boil water notice in the town. Ongoing testing had failed to reveal a source of the outbreak, but the water supply was considered the most likely.
The council predicted it could be December before a protozoa barrier was in place and the boil water notice was lifted.
Water regulator Taumata Arowai had been assessing water supplies across the country to ensure they had protozoa barriers in place, prior to the Queenstown outbreak.
On Thursday, it said 84 drinking water supplies did not have a protozoa barrier in place, affecting more than 310,000 New Zealanders - 295,000 of those in the South Island.
It put the 27 councils involved on notice to have a plan and funds locked in to fix their drinking water supplies by June next year.
Putting the barriers in place could cost anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars to millions, and it was money the councils would have to find.
Read reporter Debbie Jamieson's full story here.
A riddle to start the festive season 🌲🎁🌟
I'm a fruit. If you take away my first letter, I'm a crime. If you take away my first two letters, I'm an animal. If you take away my first and last letter, I'm a form of music. What am I?
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!
Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Think you can spot a scam from a mile away?
You might be surprised. Scammers are getting slicker, sneakier, and a whole lot more convincing, and they’re targeting everyone from students to grandparents.
Before you brush it off with “I’d never fall for that,” give your scam radar a quick tune-up! Test yourself with Netsafe’s fun new Scam Spotting Quiz or try our online module for even more skill-building.
Scams can catch anyone — even the careful ones.
Keep your wits (and your wallet) about you!
Some Choice News!
Many New Zealand gardens aren’t seeing as many monarch butterflies fluttering around their swan plants and flower beds these days — the hungry Asian paper wasp has been taking its toll.
Thanks to people like Alan Baldick, who’s made it his mission to protect the monarch, his neighbours still get to enjoy these beautiful butterflies in their own backyards.
Thinking about planting something to invite more butterflies, bees, and birds into your garden?
Thanks for your mahi, Alan! We hope this brings a smile!
Loading…
