A Timaru business owner, who estimates he has been left about $25,000 out of pocket due to the town’s water woes, wants the council to cough up – but it says no and that doing so could set a costly precedent for the future.
Queen Bee Laundry owner Chris O’Sullivan said it had been a hard couple of years for his business – which caters to nearly 40 businesses in Timaru including hospitals and motels.
He said they had worked hard to make it through Covid-19, and just when they were coming out of it they were blindsided by the water incident.
“We’re in a tough position now financially.”
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O’Sullivan said he was left with no option but to truck water into his Washdyke business when Timaru’s water supply started running brown late last year, as the water stained items he was charged with cleaning.
“As a business, we pride ourselves on high standards and sending out discoloured linen was not an option.”
O’Sullivan, who has two 5000 litre tanks at his laundry operation, engaged Temuka Transport to start trucking in water to fill them from mid-December.
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Discoloured water flows into a Timaru resident’s bath on January 5, 2022.
He said he was getting about four truck loads delivered a day, with deliveries every couple of hours during peak operating times.
“I had to get four truck loads of water a day which cost me $1000 for a day.”
O’Sullivan said the discoloured water also brought additional unexpected costs including extra labour as, due to demand for water supplies, there were times when his staff had to wait for the tanks to be refilled before they could work. And an additional $2000 repair bill after his water pump burnt out due to the tanks running out of water.
That would not have happened if they were able to draw water from the town supply, he said.
Valentina Bellomo/Stuff
Chris O’Sullivan said returning discoloured linen to his customers was simply not an option.
He said he contacted his insurance company when he started trucking the water in to check if his insurance covered him for the additional cost.
“They left me a voicemail saying they can sort it out later,” O’Sullivan said.
“Christmas and New Year’s passed and on January 17, my insurance company called me and said they looked into the policy, and they couldn’t cover me for the discolouration.”
O’Sullivan said he approached the Timaru District Council around January 20 asking for compensation and was told by a staffer they would look into the matter.
“I waited and waited, and I heard nothing from them. When I got hold of them they said the decision was still pending.”
Valentina Bellomo/Stuff
Griffin Johns, 11, pictured filling water containers at Caroline Bay in December. The Timaru District Council arranged water tankers, so residents could collect clean drinking water.
He said he had not heard back from council, so contacted them on Wednesday morning.
“When I rang them … they said they had sent me a letter in the mail saying they were not going to compensate me, and its business resilience.”
O’Sullivan said businesses have really been struggling and to not get support from the local council was “frustrating” and a “slap on the face”.
“I feel pretty angry,” he said.
“It was not the right thing to do, and they could have handled it in a better way.”
Valentina Bellomo/Stuff
O’Sullivan’s laundry business caters to nearly 40 businesses in Timaru.
O’Sullivan believes the council should provide clean water.
“I feel really frustrated. They [TDC] haven’t fulfilled their obligations, and they don’t want to be held accountable for it.”
Temuka Transport had been very supportive and was aware of his situation, he said.
Bejon Haswell/Stuff
Noel Stafford, right, said the discoloured water added to their pre-existing Covid-19 woes. (File photo)
Bay Viaduct Motor Lodge owner Noel Stafford said they had a tough time over Christmas and New Year with the discoloured water adding to their pre-existing Covid-19 woes.
“It was hard keeping the white towels clean,” Stafford said.
“We had signs out saying the water was safe to drink, but please don’t bathe in it. We couldn’t fill the spa baths and use them. What sort of message does that send?
“It was disgusting, and I was angry. We’re not a Third World country, and we did get a few complaints.” Stafford said he was also frustrated with the council.
Timaru District Council group infrastructure manager, Andrew Dixon, said the council did not think it was appropriate for ratepayers to compensate a single business affected by the water discolouration.
Dixon said doing so would carry the risk of setting a precedent which could lead to significant future costs for the whole Timaru District community.
“While we sympathise with Mr O’Sullivan that the water did not meet the specific requirements of his business over this period, the water supplied to him met the drinking water safety standards at all times.
“The council have already spent upwards of $500,000 resolving this problem as quickly as possible, and thanks to this work our Timaru urban supply is now back to normal.”
Dixon said the council aimed to provide high quality services, and did so the “vast majority of the time”.“However like any other utility we cannot be guaranteed this at all times due to issues outside of our control.”
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