Carterton District Council reissues boil water notice

The boil water notice will remain in place until further notice. Photo / Getty Images

Carterton District Council has reissued a boil water notice after it received a low-level E.coli sample reading this afternoon.

A notice was first issued on Friday after low-level contamination was discovered in two bores which supply water to urban residents.

That notice was lifted on Monday after three clear sample results came back on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The E.coli reading received by the council today is only slightly above the acceptable level for New Zealand drinking water standards.

But the council said it was taking a precautionary approach.

Infrastructure, Services and Regulatory Manager Dave Gittings said remedial action has been taken since the first elevated E. coli reading last Friday.

"We're doing everything we can to identify the source, and we will hold the boil water notice in place until we're confident we've done this and eliminated the low-level E. coli bacteria."

The council has not received any official reports of illness in relation to the readings.

The notice means Carterton's urban residents must boil all water before being used for drinking, making baby formula, juice, ice, washing fruit and vegetables, other food preparation and cooking needs, or brushing teeth.

It will remain in place until further notice.

Water should be brought to a rolling boil where bubbles appear in the centre and do not disappear when the water is stirred.

It should be boiled like this for one minute or until a full electric jug switches off.