The boil water notice issued to north-east Hamilton and some Waikato District properties in Gordonton and Puketaha three days ago has been lifted today.
In a statement, Hamilton City Council said all testing had confirmed Hamilton’s water supply is safe to drink and has returned to full compliance.
Council’s Three Waters Unit Director, Maire Porter, thanked the community for their patience and understanding over the past three days.
“We recognise this has been frustrating for many, but issuing a boil water notice after this single test result was a critical precautionary step,” said Ms Porter.
“It is a step not taken lightly but public health is an absolute priority. Putting immediate measures in place is a key first step to minimise any potential future health impacts.
“People can be reassured our response systems work. Adverse events happen, but our daily testing processes are there to quickly identify a potential issue. Our response systems and teams did their job,” she said.
Head of Operations at New Zealand’s Water Services Authority – Taumata Arowai, Steve Taylor said Hamilton City Council did the right thing as a competent drinking water supplier.
“The Council acted quickly, taking decisive action to protect public health and put the boil water notice in place. As soon as they were advised of the E. coli exceedance, they stood up an incident management team and began work to manage the incident. One of the first steps was to identify and inform vulnerable residents who rely on water for medical reasons such as dialysis, as well as advising other consumers such as rest homes, retirement villages, and food premises,” Mr Taylor said.
“The Authority was engaged with the Council throughout the process and are satisfied that the boil water notice and messaging was delivered as soon as it was possible.”
The boil water notice was issued on Saturday 4 October after a single routine test at the city’s Rototuna Reservoir identified the presence of E. coli. The test result was very low, close to the level of detection, but after discussion with the Water Services Authority – Taumata Arowai a boil water notice was put in place as a precautionary measure.
Within hours of first notification of the test result, Council isolated the Rototuna Reservoir, established a testing regime, liaised with multiple agencies, neighbouring councils and partners, and confirmed accurate messaging for the community after a decision was made to issue a boil water notice on Saturday afternoon.
Since Saturday 4 October, Council says there have been no further positive E. coli test results at multiple sample points across the network and treatment systems. This meets the requirements of three days of clear testing before a boil water notice can be lifted.
“There is no confirmed cause for the contamination identified in Saturday’s test and no evidence of any breach of our systems at the reservoir or through the wider network. We may never know the exact cause,” the Council stated.
“Hamilton’s water network infrastructure is fully compliant with all required barrier and treatment processes and we have met the highest national standards for drinking water quality and network capability for decades.”
The Council said businesses and residents need to take a few steps before they return to normal use, including running all cold taps for five minutes, disposing of ice and refreshing water in appliances.
Click here for a full list of recommended steps.
