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415 days ago

170,000 Christchurch residents ‘at risk’ from drinking water as 27 councils given notice to fix

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

From reporters Debbie Jamieson and Keiller MacDuff:
A total of 170,000 people in Christchurch are potentially at risk of bacteria in drinking water, as regulator Taumata Arowai races to identify councils without protozoa barriers on their water supplies in the wake of Queenstown’s cryptosporidium outbreak.

Taumata Arowai on Thursday sent letters to 27 councils, telling them to lock in plans - and money - to fix their drinking water supplies by June.

Most of the councils are in the South Island. Christchurch has the largest potentially at-risk population, the regulator said, with about 170,000 people drinking from supplies in part fed from wells less than 30 metres deep.

These appear to be in the Ferrymead water supply zone, which also feeds the Lyttelton Harbour basin (nearly 23,000 people), and the central water supply zone (supplying about 158,000 people).

However, Christchurch City Council has so far been confident the health risk is low. It said it was unlikely people would get water from only the shallow wells, because it mixed with water from other sources first.

More messages from your neighbours
5 hours ago

Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.

John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!

As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!

John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.

Share your question below now ⬇️

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6 days ago

Poll: When should the tree go up? 🎄

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

From what we've heard, some Christmas trees are already being assembled and decorated.

What are your thoughts on the best time to get your Christmas tree up?

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When should the tree go up? 🎄
  • 4.6% Second half of November
    4.6% Complete
  • 43.6% 1st December
    43.6% Complete
  • 17.5% A week before Christmas
    17.5% Complete
  • 33.2% Whenever you wish
    33.2% Complete
  • 1.1% Other - I'll share below
    1.1% Complete
2324 votes
5 days ago

What's your favourite tomato recipe?

Mei Leng Wong Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

Kia ora neighbours. We know your tomato plants are still growing, but we're looking ahead to the harvest already! If you've got a family recipe for tomatoes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine to share with our readers. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our February 2025 issue.

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