Havelock North water supply hearings begin

Dr Karen Poutasi (left) Lyn Stevens QC and Anthony Wilson are presiding over a hearing relating to the Havelock North gastro crisis. Photo/Warren Buckland

Hearings on the Hastings District Council's intention to use a Brookvale bore to augment Havelock North's water supply in coming months began in the Hastings District Court yesterday.

In November, the Hastings council advised it had no option but to reactivate Brookvale Bore 3, with a carbon filter, UV and chlorine treatment to meet the summer peak demand.

The Government inquiry panel that is looking into the Havelock North water contamination crisis called the additional hearing being held on two days this week to assess interim measures needed to ensure the water was safe for the next 12 months.

Hastings District Council group manager asset management Craig Thew was the first to appear in front of the inquiry panel yesterday, and he stressed that the council was putting the utmost priority on ensuring Havelock North had a safe water supply, and that it would not take a penny-pinching approach to achieving that.

He confirmed to counsel assisting the inquiry, barrister Nathan Gedye, that there was no intention to re-activate Brookvale Road bores 1 or 2 and that Brookvale bore 3 would be adequate to supply peak summer water demand.

Under questioning about instances of E. coli being detected in the Hastings water supply through August to October, along with GNS Science testing that had found significant levels of young water in the bores, Mr Thew agreed the council had "complicated and extensive" issues to grapple with.

Even if the water was being treated heavily there would still be a focus on the state of the raw water in the catchment, to give the community confidence that the council knew what was going on in the aquifer, he said.

This was something that Central North Island Drinking Water Assessment Unit drinking water assessor Peter Wood wanted to know more about before he could sign off on what Hastings was proposing, and the Hawke's Bay District Health Board was also keen to participate in aquifer conversations.

Mr Thew also discussed repairs to the infrastructure of the bore itself that would ensure it was in "tip-top condition" when it was reactivated.

As a "belt and braces" approach should apply to treatment, a high level of monitoring should also occur in the next 12 months, especially given all the question marks about what was going on in the aquifer, Mr Thew agreed.

He faced intensive questioning about how the Hastings District Council intended to test and monitor any treated water supply from its bores as it proposed, including the fact it was likely to take expert advice and increase the sample sizes tested from 100mls to 2 litres, even though that was larger than regulatory requirements.

The panel also sought information on the location of laboratories, in order to establish that the council had the most expedient access to test results should there be contamination concerns in the future.

Actions following heavy rainfall events and the council's Emergency Response Plan (ERP), including measures to communicate more quickly if there were any issues detected, were also covered.

Mr Thew noted an ERP needed to be in place before adverse events occurred, and discussed what such a plan would entail, accepting it should be tested every 3 months, and set out emergency response actions such as a pre-prepared text for any boil water notice, and a full communication plan.

The hearing is set to continue today.