Mississippi residents have been advised to shower with their mouths closed after floods damaged one of their treatment plants.

Almost 200,000 people in Jackson have been without safe drinking water and have now declared a water emergency.

“The water is not safe to drink, and I’d even say it’s not safe to brush your teeth with,” Mississippi State Health Officer Daniel Edney said.

“We are not seeing adequate chlorination and inability to consistently disinfect the water.”

Monday’s (29 August) storms caused the Pearl River to flood, with water pouring into one of the two water treatment plants. The water pressure remains low, meaning locals cannot take showers or flush their toilets.

On Wednesday, Mississippi Department of Health official Jim Craig advised the public not to “open your mouth while you’re in the shower.” He also said to keep animals away from water that has not been boiled for at least a minute.

One woman shared her harrowing story with BBC News, saying: “No water to drink. I honestly don’t want to bathe my baby in Jackson’s water.”

Another local told the outlet: “Me, as a parent, I’m going to do whatever it takes for us to survive this water crisis.”

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Jackson had already been under a boil water notice for a month, with “a formal notice issued to all properties in an area advising that drinking water from the public mains is not safe to drink unless it is boiled beforehand.”

“This is a very different situation from a boil-water notice – which is also a serious situation in which residents of Jackson have become tragically numb to,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “Until it is fixed, it means we do not have reliable running water.”

“I get it. I live in the city. It’s not news that I want to hear,” Reeves said. “But we are going to be there for you.”

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Originally Appeared Here

A 54-year-old Thai woman who accidentally locked herself in the bathroom awaited her inevitable demise after screaming for help for three days.

Living on your own certainly has its benefits, especially for people who enjoy their privacy, but it also some downsides, as one woman recently discovered. The Bangkok-based lady, whose name has not been revealed by Thai news outlets, went into her home bathroom on August 22 not knowing that she would spend the next three days stuck there. As soon as she closed the door, a faulty door knob turned the restroom into a prison for the woman, who hadn’t even bothered to take her phone with her, not to mention food or drinks. She resorted to banging on the door and screaming for help, but no one came to her rescue…

Photo: Phra Khanong Police Station / Facebook

Despite her efforts to get the attention of her neighbors or even strangers, no one heard her loud banging and cries for help, so she had to survive on tap water alone. Exhausted after two days of trying to catch anyone’s attention, the 54-year-old woman reportedly wrote a farewell message on a bathroom wall using skincare products and decided to await her demise.

Luckily for the woman, her sister, who hadn’t heard from her in days, started worrying about her and notified the police about her disappearance. A squad was dispatched to check on the woman, and after getting no response at the gate, they decided to jump over the iron gate and check the house.

Photo: Phra Khanong Police Station / Facebook

Breaking into the woman’s home with some pliers, and then kicking down the bathroom door, the policemen found the woman in a very weak state – unsurprising, considering she hadn’t eaten in three days – and rushed her to the nearest hospital. They then took picture of the message smeared on the bathroom wall, which read:

“I’ve been stuck in the toilet since August 22. If I die, please let Jay Lek take care of my will. Please give Tuk’s property to Tua Toon Tum. I drank tap water to survive. Without water, I would be dead. I tried to pry and smash my way out, I tried to shout but no one heard me.”

Photo: Phra Khanong Police Station / Facebook

Doctors tested the 54-year-old woman and found that despite her weakened state, she was in generally good health. She is expected to make a full recovery.

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — For at least the third time in a dozen years, portable toilets are parked outside the ornate Mississippi Capitol because Jackson’s water system is in crisis.

The big “Gotta Go” trailer is just one example of the city’s desperation. Many homes, businesses and government offices have had little or no running water this week, forcing people to wait in long lines for drinking water or water to flush toilets.

The scenes testify to the near collapse of a water system that residents could not trust even in the best of times. The failure to provide such an essential service reflects decades of government dysfunction, population change and decaying infrastructure. It has also fueled a political battle in which largely white GOP state lawmakers have shown little interest in helping a mostly Black city run by Democrats.

“We’re on a budget, and we have to go buy water all the time. All the time,” said Mary Huard, whose child has been forced to shift to online schooling because in-person classes were called off due to weak water pressure.

Even before the pressure dropped, Jackson’s system was fragile, and officials had warned for years that widespread loss of service was possible. A cold snap in 2021 froze pipes and left tens of thousands of people without running water. Similar problems happened again early this year, on a smaller scale.

Broken water and sewer pipes are also common in Mississippi’s largest city. The Environmental Protection Agency told Jackson months ago that its water system violates the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

The crisis deepened after heavy rain last week flooded the Pearl River and exacerbated trouble at the main water-treatment plant during the weekend.

The lines for water formed at churches, fire stations, community centers and outside big-box stores.

Outside a high school, volunteers used a pump connected to a tanker to distribute water to people who showed up with whatever empty containers they could find. One woman brought a truck bed full of empty paint buckets. A school maintenance worker hauled away a garbage container with water sloshing over the sides.

When Gov. Tate Reeves and President Joe Biden declared the situation an emergency, residents had already been advised for a month to boil their water before doing everything from brushing teeth to boiling pasta.

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said fixing the problems could cost billions of dollars — far beyond Jackson’s ability to pay. That ability has been limited by a shrinking tax base that resulted from white flight, which began about a decade after public schools were integrated in 1970.

The population peaked in 1980 at nearly 203,000. It currently stands at about 150,000, with about 25% of residents living in poverty.

In the past half-century, the racial composition of Jackson has also changed. Once majority white, it is now more than 80% Black. The suburbs encircling Jackson are generally whiter and more prosperous and have newer infrastructure.

The mostly white, Republican-dominated Mississippi Legislature has been reluctant to offer assistance, even though the problems have disrupted daily life in the Capitol where lawmakers work for at least a few months every year.

The Democratic mayor and the Republican governor rarely speak to each other. And when Reeves held a news conference Monday to announce a state of emergency, Lumumba was nowhere to be seen. Reeves said he did not invite the mayor.

They held separate news conferences again Tuesday and Wednesday, although Lumumba insisted they are working as a team. By Thursday, the two finally appeared together.

“Right now, what we’re focused on is the operational unity that we have,” Lumumba said as he stood by Reeves. “Operational unity means that we’re focused more on our common ends and objectives than any differences that we may have revealed at some point in time.”

Reeves frequently criticizes Jackson for its crime rate and has said the city’s water problems stem from shoddy management.

“I know that the team at the state Department of Health as well as the EPA has been working tirelessly since 2016 trying to convince the city to come into compliance with the orders that have been put forth. They were generally unsuccessful at that,” Reeves said Monday.

Cecil Brown is a Democrat who represented part of Jackson in the Mississippi House for 16 years before serving on the state Public Service Commission. He urged city, state and congressional leaders to work together.

“If you don’t like each other, it’s OK, let’s say, ‘If we can’t work together, let’s put our staff together,” Brown said in an interview Thursday.

The governor has blocked some efforts to alleviate the water woes. After the city hired a private contractor to handle water billing, some customers went months without receiving bills, while others skipped payments.

In 2020, Reeves vetoed legislation that would have let Jackson forgive at least a portion of the unpaid water bills for poor people. He took a more passive approach in 2021, allowing water-payment legislation to become law by letting the proposal sit for five days without his signature.

Lumumba has complained that Mississippi, a state with almost a 40% Black population, is often overlooked by national Democrats and taken for granted by Republicans.

Criticism about the Jackson water debacle is not strictly partisan.

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat whose district includes most of Jackson, said in mid-August that Jackson leaders had not provided specific proposals for improvements.

“The city fathers and mothers will have to step up, produce that plan that we can begin to sell from Jackson to Washington,” Thompson told television station WJTV.

An infrastructure bill signed into law last year by Biden is designed to address problems like Jackson’s, but it’s unclear how much of that money the Mississippi capital will receive.

At the same time, Mississippi is slashing taxes. This year, Reeves signed the state’s largest-ever tax cut, which will reduce revenue by an estimated $185 million the first year and $525 million the final year.

The governor argued that cutting the income tax would “lead to more wealth for all Mississippians,” even as one of the poorest states in the nation struggles to support schools and rural hospitals.

Reeves has not said whether he will call a special session of the Legislature before January to consider aid for Jackson. Any proposals will face opposition from some Republicans who say the state should not rescue Jackson from its predicament.

But Republican state Sen. Brice Wiggins of Pascagoula, along the Gulf Coast, said he is willing to help if the aid includes an accountability plan.

“The state ‘bailing out’ the city after what appears to be decades long neglect & failed leadership violates my sense of accountability & conservative principles,” Wiggins wrote on Twitter. He added that he remembers government aid after Hurricane Katrina.

“In the end, it’s about the safety of Jackson’s citizens & its economic viability,” Wiggins said.

Even when Jackson is not under a boil-water notice, Sharon Epps said she buys bottled water for her family because she doesn’t trust the tap water. She said her landlord replaced a broken line that spewed raw sewage into the back yard.

“When you can’t use the bathroom like you want to, and it’s floating in your back yard, that’s the saddest part about it. And then you can’t sit out in the back yard because it smells so bad,” Epps said. “It’s a disaster, baby.”

___

Associated Press Writer Michael Goldberg contributed to this report. Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus.

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Originally Appeared Here

HUDSON’S HOPE, B.C. — Business owners in Hudson’s Hope are frustrated with the danger and expense that the small town’s lack of potable water is causing.

Restaurateurs and hospitality professionals are writing letters to express their increasing concerns. These letters, collected by the Hudson’s Hope Water Recovery Committee, a group of concerned residents advocating for the community, chronicle the impact of this failure.

The water treatment plant in Hudson’s Hope failed on July 20th, 2022. A boil water notice and, later, a do not consume order were placed on the town. Though repairs are underway, the district expects another month without drinking water.

Ron Barr of the Stillwater Inn & Suites in Hudson’s Hope explained that the lack of clean drinking water has a major effect on the operation of the business.

“We are having serious implications in our hotel business that is affecting our day-to-day operations and business quite severely,” he said.

Not only have guests been leaving the hotel early or cancelling planned stays, but others are avoiding the town entirely and finding rooms in nearby towns. Bottled water is used for the coffee the hotel makes now, and housekeeping staff spend at least 25 per cent more time cleaning and scrubbing the residue left by the water from the washroom.

According to Barr, the extra care and time required by the lack of clean water costs hundreds of dollars a day.

“I would strongly suggest the District and BC Hydro come up with a plan on how we may be reimbursed for these economic hardships, as it is quickly adding up in dollars by the day.”

Debbie Green, the owner and operator of On The Rim, a restaurant in Hudson’s Hope, has similar, if more searingly voiced, worries.

“This water thing is a total pain in the ass,” she writes. “I’ve never seen anything like it! The water is disgusting.”

She explains that her restaurant uses a lot of water for the various sauces, juices, and coffee they make throughout the day—and the daily cleaning they do, as well. Even being careful, she says, the restaurant requires three jugs of water every day. 

“This has been very frustrating. And I know it is frustrating for everyone in this town, not just me,” she says.

Paul Janus, another entrepreneur who prepares and provides food in the community, considers the contaminated water not only a great expense to his business but a safety concern.

“Rationing [the water] I have and distributing water out of gallon jugs only adds to the stress of my days,” he explains. 

“Not to mention that constant need to remember that the water is not fit for consumption, and I could potentially make those I feed sick by habitually using the water from the tap.”

The water treatment plant that serves Hudson’s Hope draws from an aquifer that replaced the town’s previous source of water: the Peace River. 

This shift was necessitated by construction required for the Site C dam. BC Hydro paid for the plant and has committed to paying the district’s expenses as it works to repair the plant. 

Even so, problems with the plant have been ongoing, and some residents insist that, even when repaired, continued use of the well and water treatment plant will not be acceptable.

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From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.

Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.

Click on the headline to read the full story:

 

Illinois:

Water at Illinois state prisons is contaminated with toxic metals and other potentially harmful contaminants, including the bacteria that causes Legionnaires disease, a coalition of activists said Thursday, urging Gov. J.B. Pritzker to take action.

 

Indiana:

Several Indiana community water systems may now have to address “forever chemical” contamination after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency updated its drinking water lifetime health advisory for four PFAS chemicals.

 

Michigan:

The boil water advisory impacting more than 100,000 residents has been extended by an additional week, with the repair timeline now expected to take two weeks instead of one as initially predicted by the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA). The extension brings the advisory to three weeks.

Many people across metro Detroit may be asking themselves – is my tap water safe to drink? This question comes following a string of boil water advisories and a chemical spill in metro Detroit this summer.

 

Ontario:

If you’ve noticed a change in the taste or smell of the water in your taps recently, not to worry. Toronto Water says it is normal for this time of year.

With more than two dozen First Nation communities in Canada still under drinking water advisories, two Indigenous business leaders are doing their part to change that.

 

Pennsylvania:

The state Department of Environmental Protection released the draft of its 2022 Pennsylvania State Water Plan this week, asking Pennsylvanians to share their feedback on the resource-management proposal before it is finalized.

Catch more news at Great Lakes Now: 

Drinking Water News Roundup: Boil water advisories across region, Pennsylvania residents fight for public water

Drinking Water News Roundup: Lead levels increase in Flint water, businesses sued over water contamination concerns

 

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The City of Gonzales has been awarded $2.4 million by the Louisiana Department of Health’s Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund Program to relocate water lines along Roddy Road in anticipation of plans to widen the road and install roundabouts.

“The relocation of the water lines is being done along Roddy Road between Black Bayou Road and Airline Highway,” Gonzales City Engineer Jackie Baumann, P.E., said.

“In addition to installing new lines within a newly acquired right-of-way, we are checking with water customers along that route to ensure their meters have been converted to the new smart meters for more reliable readings,” Baumann said.

Construction began on the project in late April, and project managers anticipate completing the relocation of the lines by the end of September.

​“We are very appreciative of the help we have received from officials within LDH and the Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund program to secure the funding needed for this project,” Gonzales Mayor Barney Arceneaux said. “This project will ensure that the road widening is not delayed, and that quality water service remains uninterrupted during construction.”

DWRLF Program Manager Joel McKenzie said the City of Gonzales closed on the $2.4 million loan on May 24.

“Once a loan is approved, water systems can use the funds to make their improvements,” McKenzie said. “As water systems pay back the loans, the principal and interest are used to make more money available for other communities that have drinking water needs.” McKenzie noted that the loan is low interest and has a maximum 20-year repayment period.

“All loan projects are approved based upon a priority ranking system.  Among other factors, projects that address the most serious risks to human health and those that ensure compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act are given the highest priority,” he said.

Congress established State Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund Programs in 1996 as part of amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. The program is jointly funded by an annual grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (80 percent) and the individual participating states (20 percent).  In Louisiana, the program is administered by LDH’s Office of Public Health. 

Both public and privately-owned community and nonprofit, non-community water systems are eligible to apply for loans.

“Safe drinking water is fundamental to community health, and this program helps communities throughout Louisiana keep their water as safe as possible without placing an undue burden in the form of expensive financing,” said LDH Chief Engineer Amanda Ames.  

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Originally Appeared Here

This floodgate at George Flagg Parkway and Fleur Drive is the largest and one of the oldest in the city’s levee system. Photo: Jason Clayworth/Axios

A floodgate near George Flagg Parkway and Fleur Drive would be replaced under a plan being developed by Des Moines city staffers.

Why it matters: It would provide faster protection for Des Moines Water Works — the state’s largest water utility — as well as some commercial buildings in the area.

State of play: The project is an attempt to prevent a repeat of the 1993 disaster that flooded 10 states and caused billions of dollars in damages.

• Hundreds of thousands of central Iowa residents were left without safe drinking water for about a month after Water Works flooded.

Flashback: The current gate was installed in 1996. It uses panels that require assembly and as much as seven hours to put into place, Peter Zemansky, a city spokesperson tells Axios.

What’s happening: Last week, the city council authorized spending nearly $350,000 to design a roll gate system that could close and seal that section of levee in less than 30 minutes.

• $12 million in other types of downtown levee improvements that include increasing the height are already underway.

What’s next: Design and study work associated with the new gate will take place in coming months.

• It is anticipated to cost around $2 million and be installed in the next few years.

The Water Works floodgate will look like this one at 2100 Saylor Rd. that protects Des Moines’ Union Park neighborhood. Photo: Jason Clayworth/Axios

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Originally Appeared Here

If you’ve gone anywhere near tap water in Bloomington recently you’ve probably noticed a foul earthy or musty smell and taste. The perennial issue is related to algae growth in Lake Monroe, the county’s primary water source.

On social media, some Bloomington residents have for days complained about the water tasting or smelling “like dirt or mildew” or even being “vaguely reminiscent of a fishtank.”

Last year:Bloomington tap water safe to drink; lake algae responsible for foul taste

Yes, but is it safe to drink Bloomington’s tap water?

City of Bloomington Utilities officials could not be reached, but according to the utility’s website, the stench is a result of the presence of organic compounds methylisoborneol and geosmin, which are not harmful to human health but “negatively affect the drink water’s aesthetics.”

While the utility says it uses powdered activated carbon and other materials for treatment, the foul taste and odor may persist especially during warm and dry periods.

Maggie Sullivan, watershed coordinator for the nonprofit Friends of Lake Monroe, said adding lemons and chilling the water can help mask the stench.

“It’s a challenging issue and there’s not an easy, short-term solution, unfortunately,” she said.

Environmental conditions affecting water quality

Algae blooms in Lake Monroe often occur in late summer and early fall when the water is stagnant and warm, Sullivan said.

Unfortunately, she said, there’s not much that can be done about the temperatures and the lack of movement to improve the water’s taste in the short term.

Longer-term, the nonprofit is trying to work with nearby landowners to reduce runoff into the lake. Phosphorus and nitrogen from nearby farms and malfunctioning septic systems contribute to the algae bloom.

Friends of Lake Monroe is waiting on final word about a federal grant that would allow the nonprofit and nearby landowners to share some costs related to conservation practices, Sullivan said. The nonprofit also plans to use some of the dollars to educate people on steps they can take to preserve the county’s drinking water source.

Looking for water without the stench?

Some local grocery stores are capitalizing on the stinky water: Bloomingfoods, for example, sells water treated with processes including reverse-osmosis super-oxygenation. Jacob Wittman, manager of the eastside store, said those processes remove the foul stench of the local water. The store sells the water for 49 cents per gallon. People can bring their own containers or buy three- or five-gallon jugs at the store.

Wittman said he has perhaps seen a slight uptick in bottled water sales recently, but the store generally gets a lot of customers who buy water, some of whom buy it in bulk, even up to 25 gallons at a time.

“We consistently move a lot of water,” he said.

The utility says on its website people who have more questions can contact the CBU water quality team around the clock at 812-339-1444 or send an alert through the city’s UReport system at bloomington.in.gov/ureport.

Reach Boris Ladwig at [email protected].

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Originally Appeared Here

Cambridge is temporarily switching water sources after the Cambridge Water Department detected increasing levels of chemical pollutants in the municipal water supply, the city announced last week in a press release.

After the department found rising levels of synthetic chemicals — namely, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — in an August sample of Cambridge tap water, city officials announced last Friday that the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority would supply water to the city until 2023. The switch took place Tuesday morning.

The switch will cost an additional 2 million dollars each month for the city, according to the press release.

PFAS compounds, often called “forever chemicals” for their slow deterioration and ability to remain in the human body for many years when ingested, are widely found in an array of common household goods, including furniture, food packaging, and non-stick cookware. Ingesting PFAS chemicals has been linked to a higher likelihood of birth defects, weakened immune systems, and some cancers, among other health effects, according to the CDC.

Cambridge Water Department managing director Samuel Corda said the department “took action” to ensure residents would not feel the need to “be concerned and take any action themselves.”

“No one has to be concerned about using the water or their health issues or anything of that nature,” he said of the new water plan.

In October 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection introduced a regulation limiting the amount of PFAS chemicals in drinking water to 20 parts per trillion. Cambridge’s water — which flows from the Stony Brook Watershed into a reservoir at Fresh Pond and then into a treatment plant — has had PFAS levels between 10 and 20 parts per trillion since the Water Department began testing in 2019.

Corda said preliminary testing results from an August sample indicated that average PFAS levels for July, August, and September would exceed the state maximum, prompting the switch.

In contrast, the MWRA, which supplies water to Boston and Somerville, has not found PFAS compounds at detectable levels, according to testing from April 2021.

While the EPA does not currently restrict the level of PFAS compounds in drinking water, the agency announced Friday that two of the most common PFAS chemicals — Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid — will be designated “hazardous substances.” The EPA plans to propose an enforceable limit this fall.

Though the EPA had previously advised a limit of 70 parts per trillion of PFAS chemicals in drinking water, the agency issued a revision of its non-enforceable health advisory in June, recommending no more than 0.004 parts per trillion of PFOA and 0.02 parts per trillion of PFOS in drinking water to ensure safe lifetime consumption.

A July sample of Cambridge municipal drinking water detected PFOA and PFOS levels at 7.7 and 3.5 parts per trillion, respectively, exceeding the EPA’s advised limits.

But Corda said he thought the EPA’s recommendations were “difficult to substantiate” and argued that more data and research are necessary to arrive at the “correct level.” He noted that current PFAS testing cannot detect quantities lower than two parts per trillion.

Philippe A. Grandjean, an adjunct professor at the Harvard School of Public Health who researches the health impacts of PFAS contaminants, said that the danger of PFAS chemicals lies in their long-term accumulation in the human body.

“Once they get into your body, these compounds will accumulate, and they will take years and years for you to eliminate them from your body,” Grandjean said.

Grandjean added that the most pressing health risk posed by PFAS compounds is a weakened immune function in children and newborns, who can ingest PFAS compounds both from breastfeeding and from baby formula made with PFAS-contaminated water.

Cambridge will return to using the municipal water supply after the installation of a new granular activated carbon water filter at the city’s water treatment plant.

Corda said he expects the new filtration system, set to be completed in November 2022, will filter out half of the current PFAS chemicals in the water, returning it to within legal limits.

But in a Monday interview, city councilor Quinton Y. Zondervan expressed concerns that some PFAS chemicals — including those not tested for by the Water Department — would remain in the municipal water supply and called for a “zero-tolerance” policy toward PFAS chemicals in drinking water.

Zondervan also indicated that he is considering introducing a policy order to the City Council to make the switch to MWRA water permanent, despite the increased costs to the city.

—Staff writer Elias J. Schisgall can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @eschisgall.

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Originally Appeared Here

The likely cause of Timaru’s water discolouration and elevated manganese levels, which impacted resident’s drinking water supplies last summer, was a discharge from silage pits.

Timaru’s mayor has pointed the finger of blame for that squarely at the regional council, but Environment Canterbury disputes that.

Timaru ratepayers had been waiting several months to hear the cause of the yellow, brown and green water they had spilling from taps, but on Wednesday – when challenged on the quality of the town’s water during a Select Committee hearing for the Water Services Entities Bill in Wellington, mayor Nigel Bowen did not hesitate.

SUPPLIED

Discoloured water flows into a Timaru resident’s bath on January 5, 2022.

He told the committee a report showed manganese in the water was due to “an activity in the water protection zone that should not have occurred and shouldn’t have been consented and sits under Environment Canterbury…”

He added that it had cost the district council “a small fortune.”

READ MORE:
* Silage pits investigated over Timaru’s water discolouration issues
* Timaru’s water woes pushed as factor in drink-driving
* Timaru District Council ends water tanker service as discolouration issues disappear
* High levels of manganese confirmed as main culprit of Timaru’s water discolouration

Following the hearing, ECan director of science, Dr Tim Davie, confirmed the investigation into the water pollution had been completed, and a report outlining the findings were provided to the district council.

“We found that discharge from silage pits was a likely contributor to the problem, but we could not rule out other possible contributors,” Davie said.

He confirmed silage pits located about 500 metres uphill from the intake had been removed, “after which subsequent water sampling showed reduced manganese concentrations.”

He said the regional council continues to monitor water quality at the site and is now looking at others.

“Our staff are conducting a review of all silage pits near or within community drinking water protection zones across South Canterbury and the region, and will take appropriate action.”

Davie said ECan had not consented the silage pits linked to the pollution.

The silage pits were “installed as a permitted activity”, and regulated by rules in the regional plan, he said.

Valentina Bellomo/Stuff

Griffin Johns, 11, filling his water tank from trucks at Caroline Bay.

The water discoloration, which started in December 2021, was initially blamed on algae but was later linked to high levels of managanese in water sourced from the Ōpihi River.

Millions of litres of water were trucked into the town by the council between December and February, with some business owners forced to truck their own water in.

In June, the Timaru Herald revealed ECan was investigating the issue and had identified a Waitohi landowner “who had agreed to voluntarily move some silage pits … as a precautionary approach.”

In her response to the Herald’s requests under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, ECan’s director of operations Katherine Harbrow said they had been unable to determine the cause of the pollution, and investigations were ongoing.

“We will share the report on the groundwater results once finalised in July,” she said.

The report is yet to be provided.

Bowen appeared before the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee, alongside councillor Barbara Gilchrist, to speak to the council’s submission on the Water Services Entities Bill, which is the key legislation behind the proposed Three Waters Reforms.

Valentina Bellomo/Stuff

Yellow water continued to spill from some taps on the Timaru urban supply in January.

Bowen emphasised the council’s opposition to the reforms, and urged the Select Committee to instead consider the 10 point plan proposed by splinter group Communities 4 Local Democracy.

After the hearing, Bowen said he stood by his interpretation of the report which ECan delivered to his council on August 17.

“With a changing environment and increasing water standards under new water regulations, it’s important that water protection zones are policed for activity that could be detrimental to health of drinking water supplies,” Bowen said.

Supplied

An example of the discoloured water from one Timaru resident’s home in January 2022.

The Water Services Entities Bill passed its first reading in June, and the select committee and subcommittees are in the process of hearing submissions around the country, before it is returned to parliament for a second reading.

The Bill will establish four publicly owned water services entities that would take over water services from territorial authorities like city and district councils.

The Timaru District Council remains the only council in the country to have pulled out of Local Government New Zealand in response to its handling of the reforms, and is a key player in the legal case taken by Timaru, Waimakarairi and Whangarei district councils against the Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta and the Secretary for Local Government over the reforms.

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Originally Appeared Here