''I thought I'd clean up my own backyard and get a good treatment station in there. If there's a Havelock North I don't want people pointing the finger at me,'' he said.
However, that still left the problem of what to do with treated wastewater from the new system.
The old tank, along with septic tank overflow from another shop, discharged to a field next to the bore, so he asked the Far North District Council if the wastewater could instead be pumped to unused council land about 35m away.
The land had been set aside for an effluent field for public toilets, which have since been removed.
The council commissioned a report by consultants CH2M Beca which found a ''medium to high'' risk of groundwater contamination from existing effluent fields in Waipapa.
Even moving Clement's effluent field to the council reserve might not be far enough given the area's topography and poor drainage.
The report's authors noted that the 2016 campylobacter outbreak in Havelock North, which made 5500 people ill and contributed to four deaths, was caused by sheep faeces in a pond 90m from a water bore.
Clement said it was ironic that wastewater continued to be discharged in the old septic tank field about 3m from the bore, because 35m was not far enough away if it was moved.
The Far North District Council was unable to respond by edition time but referred the Advocate to a report from a December 2017 meeting in which Clement's request to use council land was rejected.
The report stated that, according to the Beca review, the proposal would not reduce the risk of groundwater contamination even if it moved the effluent field further away from the water bores. Councillors were also concerned about the precedent if private businesses were allowed to dispose of wastewater onto council land without public benefit.
The bore was drilled in 2016 after an older one failed. It is about 60m deep and supplies about 150 people, mostly on nearby Mawson Ave.
The Northland District Health Board said the water supply more than met national drinking water standards.
Health protection officer Jeff Garnham said there were special requirements for drinking water taken from "unprotected catchments'' with possible exposure to septic tanks or effluent from people or animals.
The Waipapa water supply used a ministry-approved UV unit and 1 micron filters, better than the required 5 micron. It was also chlorinated and tested for turbidity.
''Waipapa town supply has chosen to do all three of these extra treatment steps, which are over and above the required compliance,'' Garnham said.
Northland Regional Council regulatory services manager Colin Dall said the new bore had less of a risk of contamination because it was deeper than the old one and cased to a depth of 30m.
The Beca report authors concluded that moving Clement's effluent field onto the council reserve would be better because it was further away from the bore, but it increased the risk of overland flow and long-term it ''locked in poor sewage disposal practices in Waipapa''. It was time for a wider review of sewage disposal in Waipapa, they said.
