Patearoa residents can drink from the tap again after Central Otago District Council (CODC) lifted a long-running boil water notice for the township yesterday (Monday December 15).

The advisory, which had been in place as a precaution due to the lack of a protozoa barrier in the local supply, was removed following the successful commissioning of new treatment infrastructure.

The lifting of the notice comes just weeks before a national regulatory deadline requiring surface water supplies to meet stricter standards by the end of December.

CODC has advised residents to flush their systems to remove old water from pipes.

Since early November council contractors have been onsite at the Aitkin Road treatment plant, installing new cartridge and ultraviolet (UV) filtration systems designed to remove the risk or protozoa

contamination.

CODC water services operations manager Andrew Watson said testing confirmed the new systems were performing as intended.

“These upgrades provide a long-term level of protection for the Patearoa water supply,” Andrew said.

“We appreciate the community’s ongoing support as we continue working to provide safe, reliable drinking water across our district.”

The Patearoa project is part of a wider $4.2 million investment allocated across the council’s 2024 Annual Plan and 2025 Long Term Plan that covers upgrades for both Patearoa and Ranfurly, where

similar water quality challenges exist.

The decision to retrofit the existing plants was a fiscal one; Council earlier indicated building entirely new treatment facilities would have cost ratepayers significantly more - approximately $15M for

Patearoa and $21M for Ranfurly.

The upgrades were required in response to new quality assurance requirements for drinking water suppliers, which came into effect at the end of 2022.

While the new technology significantly reduces the likelihood of future advisories, severe weather events or extremely high turbidity could still trigger occasional precautionary notices in the future.

In September 2023, Queenstown experienced a cryptosporidium outbreak linked to its drinking water supply, which lacked a required protozoa barrier. 

CODC’s how-to guide for water users:

• Taps: Run all cold water taps for at least five minutes

• Appliances: Clean and flush coffee machines, ice makers, and water dispensers

• Tanks: Ensure a full turnover of water in any header tanks

• Filters: Check and clean or replace household filters