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Last modified: 16 Mar 2021 12:33pm

water poured into glass in sink

Selwyn has become one of the first places in the country to receive a tick for safety of drinking water under the revised assessment framework.

The Council’s water safety plan for the Hororātā water supply has been signed off by the Canterbury District Health Board, making it among the first in the country to be approved under the new system.

All Councils are required to submit water safety plans every five years, demonstrating that they have identified and are managing risks to keeping drinking water safe, but these requirements have become stricter under new legislation brought in since the Havelock North E. Coli water contamination in 2016.

Selwyn has 27 water schemes which each require a water safety plan. Having its first plan approved is a significant step in demonstrating how the new system will operate, but a lot of work remains to get the remaining safety plans approved, particularly for non-chlorinated water supplies where requirements are much stricter. The Council is working with the District Health Board on the remaining water safety plans.

Work on the water safety plans runs alongside the Council’s $23 million district-wide programme of capital works projects building and upgrading pump stations and water treatment plants, to increase capacity and improve water quality and safety over the past three years.