Press Release – Hastings District Council The Hastings District Council has welcomed the findings of the Government Inquiry into the contamination event that affected Havelock Norths water supply in August 2016.Hastings District Council response to Government Inquiry into Havelock North water contamination The Hastings District Council has welcomed the findings of the Government Inquiry into the contamination event that affected Havelock North’s water supply in August 2016.
Mayor Lawrence Yule particularly acknowledged the Inquiry findings regarding the cause of the contamination which was based on the work of the science caucus established by the Inquiry.
“This resulted in contaminated water being sucked into the water supply through Brookvale Bore One while it was operating in the normal manner.” “The Inquiry is clear that Hastings District Council did not cause the contamination to occur,” said Mayor Yule.
“These include maintenance inspections and maintenance record-keeping, the standard of planning and contingency documentation required under the New Zealand Drinking Water Standards, compliance with requests from the Drinking Water Assessors, and the effectiveness of working relationships with other agencies involved in drinking water safety.” “Council is fully committed to addressing and fixing the deficiencies highlighted by the Inquiry to ensure the safety of drinking water in the future,” said Mr McLeod.
· Improving risk management and legal compliance systems.
· Further age testing of aquifer water.
This is underway and will be finalised and reported to Council within the next month once the Inquiry findings have been carefully studied and considered by the review team.
“This event had a huge impact on our community,” said Mr Yule.
“We feel deeply for those people affected by the outbreak, particularly those families who lost loved ones and those that are afflicted by ongoing impacts.
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