Pongaroa Precautionary Boil Water Notice

Published 12 Aug 2022

Council has issued a boil water notice for the Pongaroa water supply. Untreated water coming to the water treatment plant has higher turbidity levels than usual, greater than the plant can manage, and so treated water is not compliant with the NZ Drinking Water Standards.

Although no E.coli has been detected in the water, this boil water notice is being issued on a precautionary basis as we cannot guarantee the complete disinfection of contaminants. Staff are working with the Pongaroa Rural Water personnel to resolve the untreated water quality issue.
Please help to spread the word to those not connected to the internet, as we expect the notice will remain in place until next week. Thank you to all residents in Pongaroa for their cooperation and patience.
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Until notified, Pongaroa residents are advised to boil water before using it for:
- drinking (including making of sachet juice/drinks);
- making ice;
- food preparation;
- brushing teeth; and
- preparing infant/toddler formula.
Electric jugs with a cut-off switch can be used as long as they are full – allow the water to come to the boil and wait for it to switch off (do not hold the switch down to increase the boiling time).
Water can also be placed in a clean metal pan and brought to a rolling boil for one minute. Boiled water should be covered and allowed to cool in the same container.