Inquiry prompts Hastings water safety plan review

A new Hastings District Council water safety plan has been created in response to last year's gastro outbreak in Havelock North.

A new Water Safety Plan (WSP) created in response to the August 2016 campylobacter outbreak in Havelock North will be presented to the Hastings District Council at a meeting tomorrow.

Major changes were made to the plan after it came under fire during the Havelock North water inquiry for inadequately identifying potential risks to the safety of the drinking water supply.

In addition, the inquiry found the WSP had no adequate general risk assessment system for the catchment area surrounding the Brookvale Rd bores, and that the Hastings District Council failed to liaise with the regional council in relation to aquifer and catchment risks that might affect its water supply.

In a report to the council, group manager asset manager Craig Thew and water services manager Brett Chapman said the plan also addressed new water age information received by the council.

Covering the Hastings urban water supply network that includes Hastings, Flaxmere, Havelock North, Bridge Pa and Paki Paki, the review of the plan reflected the knowledge gained during the inquiry as well as the council's own internal investigations, they said.

The updated WSP noted that since the last audit of the plan in January 2015 a number of key changes had been made to the water supply system.

Some bore fields in the water supply system that had previously been considered secure had now been categorised as non-secure or provisionally secure, due to the identification by GNS Science of young water in the system.

These comprised bores at Wilson Rd, Frimley Park and Eastbourne. A second bore was
Brookvale Bores 1 and 2 were no longer being used and Brookvale Bore 3 had been commissioned and was being treated with chlorine as well as 5-log treatment for protozoa (such as cryptosporidium).

Chlorination was now being carried out at all bore sites, and fluoridation had been removed because the injection points where it was introduced into the system were being used for chlorination.

In addition, the water quality sampling programme had been extended to include protozoa monitoring, and increased E.coli and other sampling.

A risk register had been created, including identifying the potential for contamination of the aquifer or the bore water at the point of abstraction, areas where young water could be found, operational or maintenance failures, incorrect monitoring, and water treatment issues for non-secure bores.

Areas where capital works improvements were needed had been identified, as well as procedural improvements.

These included the likes of developing operating manuals, formalising annual reviews of system compliance and performance, introducing property owner education about water security and improving communications with the Hawke's Bay Regional Council.

Mr Thew and Mr Chapman said the plan had been developed through a workshop process, and was being further reviewed by Dr Dan Deere from international consultants Water Futures Pty.

It will be presented to an independent Drinking Water Assessor by June 30 this year.