Old brass tap believed behind concerns about lead contamination of Tokomaru’s water

Tokomaru resident Anton Moore. Photo / RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham

By RNZ

An old brass tap is believed to have caused concerns about potential lead contamination of a Horowhenua town’s water supply.

People in Tokomaru should now know by Friday if they can return to using the tap water.

Residents were told not to drink tap water on Tuesday as a precaution while further testing was carried out.

The council said on Wednesday afternoon its reticulation network had come back clear but a tap at the water treatment plant was still showing non-compliant levels of lead.

However, the tap was used only for testing and was not part of the wider water network.

Horowhenua District Council chief executive Monique Davidson told Morning Report they wanted to see three days of clear test results before lifting the notice not to use the water.

She hoped to have that by Friday.

The clear results on Wednesday, and ruling out the river as a contaminate, were positive news, Davidson said.

Problems remained with the tap, leading experts to declare it a “plumb solvency matter”.

Davidson said it had to do with the way the water reacted to the old brass fitting.

“We’re obviously wanting to take additional steps to make sure we’ve got at least three days of clear samples and tests.”

It was important to not “just assume it was a tap”, she said.

“Of course we acknowledge that there were concerns and there will still be concerns in that community.”

- RNZ