A boil-water notice put in place for some central Auckland suburbs following a routine water sampling test’s positive E. coli result has been lifted, with Watercare saying the city’s water supply is “safe to use as normal”.
Watercare issued a boil-water notice on Monday night for thousands of households and businesses across parts of Hillsborough, Mt Roskill, Royal Oak and Three Kings as a “precautionary public health measure” following discussions with the Water Services Authority Taumata Arowai.
“This cautious approach is standard practice and allows time for further testing and inspections to ensure drinking water remains safe,” Watercare said.
The decision to lift the notice was made after Watercare ran further tests across the affected zone and adjacent areas, where no traces of E. coli were detected.
“Watercare has lifted the boil-water notice that was in place for parts of Hillsborough, Mt Roskill, Royal Oak and Three Kings. Drinking water in the affected area is now safe to use as normal,” Watercare said.
“Our investigations have confirmed that the issue was caused by a specific water quality monitoring tap within our extensive network of water quality monitoring locations.
“The tap has now been replaced and subsequently retested, and we can confirm it was the source of the issue.”
The Local Government Minister, Simon Watts, earlier said he was “closely” monitoring the boil-water notice and Watercare’s investigation.
Watts, who is also the Minister for Auckland, told the Herald that all Kiwis deserve “to have confidence that the water coming out of their tap is safe”.
He said Taumata Arowai had been working with Watercare “to ensure that appropriate action is being taken”.
“All suppliers have a non-negotiable duty of care to meet Drinking Water Standards, and while I understand the significant frustration this causes for impacted households, public health must always come first."
Watercare said the matter was now “fully addressed”, with no further concerns about quality or contamination in the city’s water supply.
“This is supported by multiple clear test results across the affected area, confirming the water supply is safe,” Watercare said.
Watercare, an Auckland Council-owned infrastructure asset management company, said it acknowledged the disruption to businesses and households, and thanked them for their “patience and understanding” during the response.
“We appreciate the cooperation shown while we took a careful and precautionary approach to protecting public health.”
In an update yesterday, Watercare narrowed down an issue with the sample tap as the most likely behind the positive result, noting it had taken eight more samples from the affected areas and 13 in adjacent ones, all of which showed no traces of E. coli.
Watercare chief operations officer Mark Bourne said “only the zones marked on the maps” were affected by the boil-water notice.
“Our bulk water infrastructure – water treatment plants and transmission watermains – supply water to bulk supply points around Auckland, which then supply water to the different network distribution zones.
“These zones allow us to control network operation like water pressure and, importantly, to contain any potential water quality issues to a small area.
“This means there is no risk to the wider Auckland network. Water samples are taken at least once a day from sample taps across all the distribution zones.”
Water tankers stationed at various sites to support affected residents have now been stood down, and Watercare would continue monitoring and conducting follow-up checks as normal.
The notice covered about 7800 homes and businesses in a zone stretching over parts of Hillsborough, Mt Roskill, Royal Oak and Three Kings.
Not all streets in each suburb were affected, and Watercare supplied the maps below for people to see if their property was included.
Drinking water remains safe to consume outside the areas on the maps.
Watercare said there was “no evidence” of a region-wide problem. The notice was a “precautionary measure” in case residents fell ill while investigations were ongoing.
“We understand that this notice will have an impact on households and businesses across the area but it’s important that we act carefully in the interest of public health.”
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.