It’s possible Putāruru residents have been drinking E coli contaminated water for days.
The sample was taken the day before from the Pinedale No 1 reservoir, which is supplied from Blue Springs.
The medical centre, rest homes and other key community groups were also informed on Friday and council began distributing pamphlets to properties, Anderson said.
Resident Michelle Hill didn’t receive a pamphlet until 3.30pm on Monday and although she found out about the contaminated water through social media on Friday, she was concerned for residents who weren’t as tech savvy.
"I spoke to four people on Monday who still didn’t know about the boiled water notice – that’s four full days."
We had a focus on social media and in hindsight we’ve had a look and recognise the importance of the mail drop," Andersen said.
"People think we’ve known since last Monday, but we take samples every four days.
Coca‑Cola, Aquasplash and New Zealand Quality Waters have all been made aware of the contamination, Andersen said.
Council believes the contamination has been caused by an animal, which has got into the reservoir, Andersen said.
Council is already proposing in its Long Term Plan to chlorinate water from Blue Springs from the beginning of the next financial year, Andersen said.