Chlorine in Napier's water: Mayoral candidate says questions need to be answered

Napier mayoral candidate Kirsten Wise says she plans to question why the city's water supply needs to be chlorinated.

Napier has had troubles for months with brown water, and in some cases black water, flowing from residential taps.

One of the main causes of that is chlorine shaking loose biofilm that has built up over years in the city's pipe system.

A selection of pictures posted on social media show the water issues Napier residents are struggling with. Photos / Supplied

Wise said one of the main issues for her was that Christchurch City Council is on target to be 98 per cent chlorine free by June.

"That raises the question for me, if they can achieve that, and their aquifer is nowhere near as good as ours, then why can't we achieve that?"

She said there is a large percentage of the Napier community who wants to see chlorine removed from the water.

Napier councillor Kirsten Wise says there are unanswered questions about water chlorination. Photo / Paul Taylor

"As a councillor, or as a group of councillors, we have a responsibility to ask that question of our council officers.

"I'm just trying to establish exactly what our local issues are, with regards to the need for chlorination, and get both sides of the story."

She said at this stage she did not have enough information to either agree or disagree with chlorination.

She said as a councillor the number of complaints she was receiving about chlorination was decreasing.

"They are probably still unhappy about it, but they probably feel that they are not actually going to achieve anything by complaining."