much of New Zealand’s essential infrastructure is found wanting

We’ve often talked about how farming pollution and creaking, poorly resource infrastructure  is degrading the quality of life for people in New Zealand, especially with regards to drinking and bathing water quality.

Despite marketing itself as 100% pure and telling visitors it has ‘world class’ drinking water quality, 20% of people in New Zealand have water that is either ungraded or contaminated and unfit to drink.

People in Northland town of Kaeo are the latest to be told their water is unfit for consumption and that they should boil it if they want to drink it.

Fortunately for visitors to the town, some reputable locals prefer not to shelter behind  the100% pure-hype New Zealand is famed for -they are advising tourists to buy water.

The small town’s local supply comes from a bore, and residents who use it have been complaining for some time about its brown colour and smell.

The Far North town on State Highway 1, north of Kerikeri, has a population of just under 500 and many households have installed tanks to collect rainwater rather than rely on the town supply, which has been problematic for years.

In 2000, the Far North council gave Kaeo’s water supply to a private company – which went broke. After community meetings a local trust, Wai Care, offered to take over…

…Local businesswoman Helen Owens said she and her husband always warned off tourists who arrive in Kaeo and went to fill their water bottles from public taps – such as the one at her garage.

“We advise them to buy water or keep going until their next stop where there’s tank water,” she said….”Cyclists and backpackers, especially, they go to fill up from the outside taps and we advise them against it because of the colour and the smell and the unknown quality of it.”

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