Sickness, boiled water and another hit for Queenstown businesses
Thousands of New Zealanders are drinking water at risk of carrying the same parasite that is causing sickness and disrupting business in Queenstown.
Drinking water providers installed barriers to neutralise or eliminate protozoa such as cryptosporidium and giardia. The barrier was usually either UV equipment or a fine mesh.
Despite legislation requiring protozoa barriers to be in place in New Zealand since 2014, the water supply drawn from the apparently pristine Lake Wakatipu and feeding central Queenstown did not have one.
The cryptosporidium outbreak was confirmed by September 18 and the Queenstown Lakes District Council quickly imposed a boil water notice in the town. Ongoing testing had failed to reveal a source of the outbreak, but the water supply was considered the most likely.
The council predicted it could be December before a protozoa barrier was in place and the boil water notice was lifted.
Water regulator Taumata Arowai had been assessing water supplies across the country to ensure they had protozoa barriers in place, prior to the Queenstown outbreak.
On Thursday, it said 84 drinking water supplies did not have a protozoa barrier in place, affecting more than 310,000 New Zealanders - 295,000 of those in the South Island.
It put the 27 councils involved on notice to have a plan and funds locked in to fix their drinking water supplies by June next year.
Putting the barriers in place could cost anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars to millions, and it was money the councils would have to find.
Read reporter Debbie Jamieson's full story here.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
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 ⬇️
What's your favourite tomato recipe?
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.
Poll: When should the tree go up? 🎄
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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4.6% Second half of November
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43.4% 1st December
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17.6% A week before Christmas
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33.3% Whenever you wish
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1.1% Other - I'll share below
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