By Ralph Ellis, Hannah Sarisohn and Holly Yan, CNN

(CNN) — Water pressure has been restored in Jackson, Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves and the city government said.

“Today, the tanks are full. Water pressure is solid,” Reeves said during a Monday news conference.

The governor said while “there may be more bad days in the future, we have, however, reached a place where people in Jackson can trust that water will come out of the faucet. People in Jackson can trust the toilets can be flushed.”

In a Monday news release, the city said, “All tanks maintained storage levels overnight. We currently do not have any tanks at low levels. All of Jackson should now have pressure and most are now experiencing normal pressure.”

City officials said “significant gains” in terms of water pressure were made late Friday night into Saturday at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant, increasing plant output to 86 pounds per square inch (PSI) — close to their goal of 87 PSI.

On Sunday, water pressure levels exceeded the goal, reaching 90 PSI, and on Monday the city said the total plant output is currently meeting the goal of 87 PSI.

After flooding hit the treatment plant, thousands of Jackson residents went days without enough water to flush their toilets or enough clean running water to safely brush their teeth. Public schools had to resort to online classes when the water pressure dropped.

On Monday, Jackson Public Schools announced in-person classes will resume Tuesday.

The school system said on Twitter water pressure was suitable for classes to resume at “nearly” all school sites. Forest Hill High still has low pressure and students and staff will be allowed to report to other sites, the school system said.

Schools with air conditioning systems that depend on water may experience delays in reaching the coolest possible temperatures, the system said.

The governor said most water distribution sites at schools are being closed and moved to larger distribution sites in anticipation of a return to school.

Boil-water advisory still in effect

Jackson residents are still under a boil-water advisory, the city said. In order to lift the advisory, officials must get two rounds of clear samples from the water, a process the city hopes to begin midweek.

Jackson, home to about 150,000 residents, had been under a boil-water advisory since July 30 due to a high “level of manganese combined with the use of lime” at the O.B. Curtis plant in nearby Ridgeland, the city said.

The main pumps at the water treatment plant were severely damaged around late July, forcing the facility to operate on smaller backup pumps, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said last week. The governor did not elaborate on the damage.

Then heavy rain and flooding in late August caused a chemical imbalance at the O.B. Curtis plant — the main water plant servicing Jackson. The water treatment facility began failing Monday, Reeves said.

FEMA leader not sure when Jackson will have safe drinking water

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Sunday it is still too soon to say when all Jackson residents will have safe, running drinking water.

“The focus right now is making sure we can get bottled water out,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN’s Dana Bash.

The city warned “additional challenges” as repairs are made may impact the improved water pressure.

The FEMA director visited the site Friday and said it’s not certain when the water plant will be fully operational again.

“There has been a lot of infrastructure damage that has been present for many years,” Criswell told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

But “I think that having EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, we had a really good conversation on Friday about what it’s going to take and the assessments they’re doing,” Criswell said. “It’s going to happen in phases.”

Jackson mayor says water system still needs work

But even when Jackson’s boil-water advisory is lifted, the water treatment infrastructure will still be in a fragile state, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

“As I have always warned, even when the pressure is restored, even when we’re not under a boil-water notice, it’s not a matter of if these systems will fail, but when these systems will fail,” Lumumba said.

“There are many points of failure. We’re talking about a set of accumulated challenges that have taken place over the better part of 30 years.”

The mayor told ABC he expects a long road ahead to achieve a “safe, drinkable, reliable, sustainable and equitable” water treatment facility.

“I’ve been lifting up this circumstance amongst many individuals that are in leadership and have influence over a solution,” Lumumba said. “I don’t want to put it squarely in one person’s lap, but I think there’s a well-defined record of me lifting that up.”

On Monday, Reeves cautioned the water system still had many problems.

“This system broke over several years and it would be inaccurate to claim it is totally solved in a matter of less than a week,” Reeves said.

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Belgium’s Colruyt Group has reduced water consumption at three sites in Halle by approximately 8,000 cubic metres with the help of its water treatment plant at the distribution centre in Dassenveld.

At the end of 2021, the retail group started using the water treatment plant, which purifies industrial and sanitary waste water for its distribution centre in Dassenveld, head office in Wilgenveld, and the offices and warehouses at the Elbeek site in Belgium.

Designed with a production capacity of 11 cubic metres drinking water per hour, the installation can purify 90,000 cubic metres of waste water into 81,000 cubic metres of so called ‘process water’ annually.

This water must be remineralised for use as tap water, and is done by adding one-fifth of city water to it, the company noted.

The initiative has helped the retailer reduce its water footprint and also cut dependency on city water.

Colruyt teamed up with water technology company Waterleau for the project at Dassenveld.

Process and sales engineer Hannah Vandewiele said, “We designed the installation and via the digital platform Smartlab we can monitor both the system and the water quality via inline measurements. All data and dashboards are also available to Colruyt Group straight away.

“Colruyt Group thus also plays a pioneering role in the digital transformation of water purification and reuse. I expect that this project will greatly increase support for water reuse as drinking water among both companies and the general public.”

The Project

In addition to water purification, the project also involves the construction of underground and overground double water pipes for waste water in one direction and purified drinking water in the other.

In the first phase, the retailer connected the head office in Wilgenveld to the plant and then to the Elbeek site.

In the future, the company plans to connect the distribution buildings of the facility in Hellebroek.

Last year, Colruyt also boosted its capacity to capture rain water at the distribution centre in Dassenveld by 5,400 cubic metres.

“Those buffers now have a total capacity of 9,500 cubic metres. The water is purified by, among others, a sand and UV filter and then used for the cooling systems and the sanitary facilities,” said Peter Basteleus, project manager.

© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

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LAST month’s concerns about water quality at Blue Lagoon were raised as dead fish washed up on the banks of the Umgeni River. This coincided with high E. coli levels which led to beach closures off the Durban coast.

Following the high levels of pollution, the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology (IWWT) at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), has been testing tap water in parts of the eThekwini region.

IWWT director Professor Faizal Bux says test results look good.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Environmental catastrophe as dead fish wash up along Umgeni River

“Recently, there has been much concern about Durban’s tap water quality. We have conducted microbiological testing on random samples from the greater Durban area (south, north and west), and the tap water satisfies the SANS 241 microbiological drinking-water standards,” said Bux.

According to IWWT, the recent polluted water resulted from poorly treated wastewater discharged from wastewater treatment plants and spills from dysfunctional sewer pump stations. This was evident at the Umgeni Rivermouth where dead fish were seen on the banks of the river.

ALSO READ: High E. coli levels force several Durban beach closures

According to IWWT, water tests revealed extremely low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water that could have caused fish to die.

“Low oxygen levels are a reflection of poor water quality attributed to high amounts of undesirable organic material in the environment. This has a serious negative impact on aquatic life,” said Bux.

Bux added that IWWT is continuing to test samples of wastewater from sewage plants in eThekwini to monitor the levels of SARS-CoV-2. The latest tests show low levels of SARS-CoV-2 detected in the wastewater samples.

 

 

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While significant progress has been made in restoring water pressure after a major failure at a water treatment plant last week, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Sunday that it is still too soon to say when all Jackson residents will have safe, running drinking water.

“The focus right now is making sure we can get bottled water out,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN’s Dana Bash.

City officials announced Sunday that most Jackson residents are experiencing normal water pressure after substantial strides were made at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant, increasing tank levels.

“All tanks saw increased storage levels overnight. Multiple tanks are approaching full. We no longer have any tanks at low levels. All of Jackson should now have pressure and most are now experiencing normal pressure,” the city said in a news release.

The city warned “additional challenges” as repairs are made may impact the improved water pressure.

Jackson residents are still under a boil-water advisory, the city said. In order to lift the advisory, officials must get two rounds of clear samples from the water, a process the city hopes to begin midweek.

Jackson, home to about 150,000 residents, had been under a boil-water advisory since July 30 due to a high “level of manganese combined with the use of lime” at the O.B. Curtis plant in nearby Ridgeland, the city said.The main pumps at the water treatment plant were severely damaged around late July, forcing the facility to operate on smaller backup pumps, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said last week. The governor did not elaborate on the damage.Then heavy rain and flooding in late August caused a chemical imbalance at the O.B. Curtis plant — the main water plant servicing Jackson. The water treatment facility began failing Monday, Reeves said.

The FEMA director visited the site Friday and said it’s not certain when the water plant will be fully operational again.

“There has been a lot of infrastructure damage that has been present for many years,” Criswell told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

But “I think that having EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, we had a really good conversation on Friday about what it’s going to take and the assessments they’re doing,” Criswell said. “It’s going to happen in phases.”

City officials said the water plant made “significant gains” in terms of water pressure late Friday night into Saturday, increasing plant output to 86 pounds per square inch (PSI) — close to their goal of 87 PSI.

On Sunday, water pressure levels exceeded their goal, reaching 90 PSI, the city said.

But even when Jackson’s boil water advisory is lifted, the water treatment infrastructure will still be in a fragile state, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

“As I have always warned, even when the pressure is restored, even when we’re not under a boil water notice, it’s not a matter of if these systems will fail, but when these systems will fail,” Lumumba said.

“There are many points of failure. We’re talking about a set of accumulated challenges that have taken place over the better part of 30 years.”

The mayor told ABC he expects a long road ahead to achieve a “safe, drinkable, reliable, sustainable and equitable” water treatment facility.

“I’ve been lifting up this circumstance amongst many individuals that are in leadership and have influence over a solution,” Lumumba said. “I don’t want to put it squarely in one person’s lap, but I think there’s a well-defined record of me lifting that up.”

CNN’s Tina Burnside contributed to this report.

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Release of the Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy

We are working to secure Victoria’s future water supply, making sure our precious resources meet the challenges of a drying climate and the demands of a growing population.

Today we launch the Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy – outlining a pathway to secure the region’s water future over the next 50 years.

We are preparing now so Victoria’s communities, farmers, industries and tourism can have confidence in Victoria’s water security in the future. The Strategy will ensure access to safe drinking water and strengthen the resilience of Melbourne and Geelong’s water grid.

Work to deliver the Strategy will include building on successful programs like the Schools Water Efficiency Program, which has helped 1,328 schools save more than 9.9 billion litres of water and cut down their water bills. This gives schools technology, specialist advice and curriculum materials to teach kids how to manage and monitor water use.

The strategy prioritises future investment into recycled water and stormwater infrastructure, that will be used for non-drinking purposes like industry, agriculture and keeping our sporting fields, parks and gardens green.

This year the Victorian Government has already invested over $10 million towards new stormwater harvesting and recycled water projects as part of the Integrated Water Management Grants as well as co-invested in the $72 million Dingley Recycled Scheme that will unlock 1,800 ML of recycled water each year for Melbourne’s southeast.

The strategy also includes arrangements to allocate 16 gigalitres of the 3-4 Bench water entitlement in the Latrobe Valley to deliver outcomes for Traditional Owners, the environment and irrigated agriculture.

The strategy also introduces a new daily water use target for Melbourne, encouraging households to stick to 150 litres of water per person per day.

The Strategy was developed in partnership with Traditional Owners and aims to increase their access to water entitlements without taking from existing entitlement holders.

View the full strategy.

/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) may be of a point-in-time nature, edited for clarity, style and length. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s).View in full here.
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Jackson, Mississippi, residents are still facing a water crisis nearly a week after flooding in the Pearl River damaged the city’s water system, though water pressure has been restored to most of the city, the city said in a news release Sunday.

Why it matters: The crisis has upended life for the city of nearly 150,000 people, with schools shifting to remote learning and businesses being forced to shutter or install expensive fixes like portable toilets. People have had to wait in long lines for potable water.

The plant’s output of 90 pounds per square inch is higher than the city’s goal of 87 PSI, but the “outlook continues to be positive” at the O.B. Curtis Water Plant, where the failure happened, the city said in the update. Additional repairs could cause fluctuations in the water pressure, per the city.

• “Multiple tanks are approaching full,” the release says. “We no longer have any tanks at low levels. All of Jackson should now have pressure and most are now experiencing normal pressure.”
• The city continues to be under a boil notice, which was put into place back in July.
• In Sunday’s press release, the city said it hopes to take water samples midweek, and it will need two clear samples before the boil water notice can be lifted.

Driving the news: It’s too early to tell when the failed water system, which has left thousands of people without clean tap water, will be fixed, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

• Criswell said during a visit to Jackson on Friday that the water was going to return “in phases.”
• “The focus right now is making sure we can get bottled water out, but also we are providing temporary measures to help increase the water pressure, so that people can at least flush their toilets and use their faucets,” Criswell said.

Catch up quick: Jackson has been under a boil-water notice since July 30, after tests showed water quality was “cloudy,” raising concerns about potential health concerns.

• Flooding from the Pearl River caused the already-damaged main water treatment plant to fail, resulting in some faucets without water and, in other cases, brown water, CNN reports.
• The governor announced a state of emergency on Tuesday and activated the National Guard to assist the city.
• President Biden on Tuesday approved a federal emergency disaster declaration to assist with the outages.

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Jarvis Jones and John Knight help distribute free bottled water at the Sykes Park Community Center in Jackson, Mississippi.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

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Leslie Gamboni for NPR

Jarvis Jones and John Knight help distribute free bottled water at the Sykes Park Community Center in Jackson, Mississippi.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

The same day that 600 National Guard members deployed around Jackson, Miss., to distribute water to tens of thousands of people, one steady line of cars flowed instead through a quiet residential neighborhood, as they’ve been doing for months.

The Sykes Park Community Center got a large filter six months ago to purify water for local residents to pick up.

“We just don’t do it periodically. We do it every single day,” says Jason Page, a youth mentor with the group Strong Arms, who speaks as he directs traffic in and out of the parking lot. “The Jackson water has been messed up for a while now.”

A week after more than 160,000 residents lost their water, it’s still not clear when the city’s primary water treatment plant, O.B. Curtis, will be back up. But even when that happens, people here say the larger crisis will not be over. Jackson’s water has been unreliable and unsafe for decades. Many residents accuse the state government of neglecting the needs of a city that’s 82% Black. And those tensions, along with Jackson’s shrunken tax base, pose a challenge to any lasting solution.

Jason Page is a youth mentor with the group Strong Arms. He helps distribute water at the Sykes Community Center.

Walter Ray Watson/NPR

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Jason Page is a youth mentor with the group Strong Arms. He helps distribute water at the Sykes Community Center.

Walter Ray Watson/NPR

The rituals of boiling water, and the luxury of a bath

Lifelong resident Halima Olufemi, 45, remembers her great-grandmother and grandmother boiling water. “So much so that we would buy extra jugs and they would always pour the water in,” she says. “It was a way of life.”

She’s now an activist with the People’s Advocacy Institute and has been helping distribute water in this emergency.

So has Danyelle Holmes, with the Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign. Thirty years ago she moved here from Greenwood in the Mississippi Delta to go to college and was told not to drink the water.

“I’ve never drank tap water since I’ve been here in the city of Jackson,” Holmes says. “Never.”

The city’s aging water lines can leak, leading to low pressure and contamination. There have also been broken water and sewage lines. And in 2016 the state’s health department warned that it had found lead in the water supply.

Even before this crisis, Holmes always boiled her water. She does take showers, but her water is usually tinted brown, and she refuses to take a bath in that.

“Now, before my mom passed away three years ago, it did me good to just go home to take baths back in Greenwood,” she says. “That was a luxury for me.”

Danyelle Holmes, an activist with Mississippi’s Poor People Campaign, stands for a portrait at the Westland Plaza Parking Lot as she helps distribute water in Jackson.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

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Leslie Gamboni for NPR

Danyelle Holmes, an activist with Mississippi’s Poor People Campaign, stands for a portrait at the Westland Plaza Parking Lot as she helps distribute water in Jackson.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

A city and state divided by race and politics

When you ask almost anyone here why the water’s been this bad so long, the answer inevitably turns to politics and race. School desegregation led to white flight in the 1970s. That transformed Jackson into an overwhelmingly Black city and a largely poor one. The mayor is Black and a Democrat. The governor and most state lawmakers are white and Republican.

Danyelle Holmes says the water is a danger to residents because “those that are in power … neglected to do what they had the power to do, and that is to invest in the infrastructure here in the city of Jackson.”

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba says fixing the water system would cost more than a billion dollars. There’s no way Jackson’s shriveled tax base could pay for that. But when the city asks the state for money, it usually gets far less than requested, if any.

The governor blames water problems on the city’s mismanagement. This year he signed the state’s largest ever tax cut.

For activist Olufemi, it’s all part of the country’s fraught racial history, and how she says those in power have always treated the economically disadvantaged, especially people of color.

“I don’t think that they care until it happens to them,” she says. “Until it affects their homes, their children, their money, they don’t pay attention.”

Tyisin Peoples, Joshua Freeman, and Jarvis Jones help distribute free bottled water at the Sykes Park Community Center in Jackson, Mississippi.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

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Tyisin Peoples, Joshua Freeman, and Jarvis Jones help distribute free bottled water at the Sykes Park Community Center in Jackson, Mississippi.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

Making infrastructure work can be a unifying force

Carlos Martín of the Brookings Institution says the impact of race and partisan politics on infrastructure is real, and Jackson residents are not alone. But ideally, making infrastructure work should unite people.

“In many ways, it’s a miracle that we don’t have more Jackson, Mississippis, and Flint, Michigans, in this country,” he says. “And that’s for the grace of God and infrastructure that ties most communities’ infrastructures together.”

He says on the whole around the country, infrastructure ties together communities that are Black and white, rich and poor, creating a shared interest in keeping the systems working properly.

But “when we don’t see those same communities being served by the same physical infrastructure systems, we see more of these cases” like Jackson, he says.

Martín says Jackson and other minority, low-income cities lack the political clout to get the resources they need for long term planning and investment. And it’s not clear this current crisis will lead to that either.

“Money fixes things at the last minute,” he says. “We have, generally, a history of doing things like what we’re seeing right now in Jackson, declaring an emergency once the damage has already occurred.”

Kevin Edwards delivers free water to residents from a repurposed school bus at the Westland Plaza Parking Lot in Jackson, Mississippi, on Friday.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

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Kevin Edwards delivers free water to residents from a repurposed school bus at the Westland Plaza Parking Lot in Jackson, Mississippi, on Friday.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

Tensions over blame amid calls for a long-term fix

At a recent press conference, when asked why Jackson has had unreliable water for decades, Gov. Tate Reeves was defensive.

“I know that you in the press want to play the blame game and you really want to focus on pitting different people against each other, and that’s certainly your priority, that’s fine,” he said. “What we are focused on is the immediate health and welfare of Jackson residents.”

It was the first press conference all week where the governor and mayor actually appeared together. Both Reeves and Mayor Lumumba repeatedly emphasized their “operational unity.”

“When I have been asking for this help, when the state comes to me and says we’re coming to help you, it doesn’t benefit for us to try and take jabs at each other, to fight in that moment,” Lumumba said. “What we have to take advantage of is this opportunity to realize how we create a better system for our residents.”

Halima Olufemi, an activist with the People’s Advocacy Institute, stands for a portrait at the Westland Plaza Parking Lot as she helps distribute water.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

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Leslie Gamboni for NPR

Halima Olufemi, an activist with the People’s Advocacy Institute, stands for a portrait at the Westland Plaza Parking Lot as she helps distribute water.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

But it wasn’t long before another tit-for-tat spat between the two, raising questions about whether they can effectively work together even in a crisis that’s gained national attention.

Jackson will get money from the recent federal infrastructure law — which, researcher Martín points out, most of the state’s congressional delegation voted against. It’s up to the state to decide how to parcel out those funds among municipalities.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers have met in private to talk about new ideas for some kind of long-term fix. Some have called for addressing the crisis in a special session of the legislature, which is not due to meet again until January.

For now, though, thousands of people here will keep lining up for the water they need to cook, wash dishes and drink.

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Islamabad 3rd September : Aid Workers Warn That A Shortage Of Clean Drinking Is Leading To An Increase In illnesses In Pakistan At A Time When The Number Of Deaths From The Devastating floods Rises To 1,200, Media Reported.

Access To Pure Water Was The Biggest Issue For Those Struggling To Find Shelter And Food Medical Charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, The BBC Reported.

The Government Was In Session On Saturday To Evaluate The Magnitude Of The floods That Have Submerged Three Quarters Of The Nation.

At At Least One In Three Of The Victims Of The floods Is Believed To Be Children.A Total Of 1.

4 Million Homes Have Been Destroyed In Record-setting Monsoon Rains That Have Been Affecting More Than 33 Million Residents.The Top Official In The Country’s Disaster Management Stated That 2022 Brought Some Of The Harsh Facts Of Climate Change To Pakistan According To The BBC Reported.

“This Year, We Did Not See A Springtime.we Were Hit By Four Heatwaves That Led To Massive Forest Fires Throughout The Nation,” Said Akhtar Nawaz.

In The Meantime, UN Children’s Agency unicef Declared That More Children Are At Risk Of Dying From Diseases In Pakistan Because Of The Scarcity Of Clean Water.

“There Is A Current High Chance Of Deadly Water-borne Diseases Which Are Spreading Quickly, Diarrhoea Dengue, Cholera, Malaria,” Unicef’s Abdullah Fadil Declared.

“There Is A Chance Of Many More Deaths Among Children.”
The floods Have Caused Around $10 Billion Of Destruction In Pakistan And Many People Are Suffering From Severe Food Shortages.

More Than Half Of The Crops Of The Country Were Destroyed.In The Meantime, The Country Was In The Midst Of A Financial Crisis As The BBC Reported.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 4. The US Agency for
International Development (USAID) is providing a reliable drinking
water access to people in Tajikistan, a representative from the
Rural Water Supply Activity, a USAID program being implemented by
international development organization Chemonics International told
Trend.

Within the framework of the USAID Rural Water Supply Activity
Project, which is implemented by the Chemonics, a total of 3,400
people (including school and health facilities) now receive 24/7
quality drinking water in Tajikistan.

“It is expected to provide reliable and sustainable drinking
water access to about 45,000 Tajiks. We hope to demonstrate to
municipalities and local entrepreneurs that privately operated
water systems are sound and sustainable businesses, and thus
attract much needed private investments to serve rural areas in
Tajikistan,” says the project team.

For instance, in this year the project supported the
rehabilitation of the rural drinking water system in Chorbogh
village of A. Jomi district (Khatlon), and ensured its
sustainability by empowering a private entrepreneur to operate and
maintain the system.

In the coming year, USAID should be able to complete several
other rehabilitation projects and provide sustainable drinking
water access to over 20,000 people in Tajikistan.

The USAID Rural Water Supply Activity, which will be completed
on September 30, 2025, supports small-scale rehabilitation of
drinking water infrastructure in targeted rural communities in
Tajikistan.

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A month after the Waimate District Council announced unsafe levels of nitrates had been discovered in a rural water scheme, affected residents are still being warned against drinking tap water or giving it to pets.

The council says more than 600 consumers of the Lower Waihao Rural (including Waikakahi East) Water Scheme are affected, and has warned boiling the water will not remove nitrates, which can cause serious harm to unborn babies and infants.

Instead, it recommends residents fill bottles for their own use and that of household pets from temporary tanks it has provided at halls in Glenavy and Morven.

“While dogs and cats can handle a higher level of nitrates than most people, it’s advisable to err on the side of caution when providing their water intake.”

READ MORE:
* Environmentalist urges Cantabrians to fight NZ’s largest pollution consent
* Call for DHB to consider nitrate levels in drinking water
* Downlands Water Scheme upgrade to cost users $24m

The council will address the matter at a public meeting at Glenavy Hall on Saturday, with representatives from the district and regional councils, and Canterbury chief medical officer of health, Matthew Reid, expected to front.

The meeting follows confirmation the council has “committed to building a denitrification plant,” to address the increased nitrate levels.

“However, this is not a short term fix and will take many months to finalise design, build and get required consents for this project,” a statement from the council, posted to its website, says.

WDC says it is working closely with new water regulator Taumata Arowai and Environment Canterbury to resolve the issue, “but there are a number of factors to consider and this will take time.”

The council has been approached for further comment on the matter.

AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff

A Lower Waihao Rural (including Waikakahi East) Water Scheme user fills drinking water bottles from a temporary tank in Morven.

Glenavy resident Patricia Vause said the elevated nitrate levels had seen her stockpiling “heaps” of water bottles in her garage, as she did not believe the water supplied by council in the tanks was clean enough.

“I don’t feel its clean enough compared to the water you buy,” Vause, a resident of the area for almost 20 years, said.

“The first lot was good, but the second one was worse. It’s been a bit of a hassle. I won’t even use it to wash the veggies.”

Vause said she will be sticking to the water she buys from the supermarket until she knows for sure the water in the tanks is clean and clear.

WDC warned users not to drink water from the scheme on August 6.

JOHN BISSET/Stuff

Glenavy resident Patricia Vause is now buying her water from the supermarket.

Within days, council chief executive Stuart Duncan said nitrate levels were exceeding the national Maximum Acceptable Value (MAV) by 1.3 mg/L at 51.3 mg/L of nitrate-NO3.

The council has acknowledged “the elevated nitrate levels will come as a shock” to scheme users.

In August, Carl Hanson, a groundwater science manager with ECan, said the supply’s intake is “a shallow well located in an area of intensive farming.”

“Our monitoring has shown nitrate concentrations in shallow groundwater in the area to be increasing over the past 20 to 30 years.

“This was a driver for the setting of limits for nitrate losses that are now included in the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan.”

Hanson said the only immediate solution to the problem would be for the Waimate District Council to find an alternative source with lower nitrate concentrations.

AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff

A tank at Morven Hall supplying water to residents with high nitrates in their tap water.

“The nitrate concentrations in the current supply may decrease again over time, but this could take weeks or months.”

Health researchers and environmental groups have called to lower the 50mg/L maximum acceptable value (equivalent to 11.3mg/l nitrate-nitrogen and more than 10 times higher than the level linked to increased bowel cancer risk in a major Danish study published in 2018).

Research released in 2021 found the chances of a premature birth increased by 47 per cent when nitrates in drinking water were just 5 mg/L.

The council has also advised residents they can source water from a potable water tap source at Victoria Park, Hillary St, in Waimate.

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