Havelock residents are welcoming the Marlborough District Council’s investigation into a temporary ultraviolet treatment system for Havelock’s drinking water supply.

Locals were blindsided last week when the council issued a boil water notice after updated guidance from water regulator Taumata Arowai, due to the risk of protozoa which could cause sickness.

The notice would likely last until a new $14 million treatment plant opened in 2028, the council said last week.

While the risk of protozoa had not changed, requirements under the Water Services Act 2021 had become more stringent, requiring multiple barriers, the council said.

Havelock’s current plant only used chlorine, whereas the planned plant would use chlorine, ultraviolet (UV) and filtration.

Since the notice was issued, residents and business owners were considering spending thousands on buying their own UV treatment systems, rather than boil water for three years.

But on Monday, the council’s infrastructure and services general manager Richard Coningham said the council was looking into whether a temporary solution could be found, so the boil water notice could be lifted in a matter of weeks or months.

“We are working through a number of options and council engineers want to determine whether we have a workable solution by the end of this week,” Coningham said.

The council was in talks with a number of parties, including local businesses, he said.

“In the meantime I suggest residents and businesses in Havelock hold off and do not invest in their own UV treatment system until council has assessed these options.

“They should also continue to boil their water for now.”

The council would not describe what options they were exploring, but said residents could expect an update on the situation no later than Friday.

Mills Bay Mussels business development manager Carlie Verhoef said she welcomed the news.

“It would be great, I think it would be the right thing for [council] to do, provided people [are paying] for water that’s not drinkable,” Verhoef said.

Verhoef said that they had already decided to hold off on purchasing their own UV water treatment system, in the hopes that the council would step in.

“I guess when they're getting pressure put on them, they'll make the move, so hopefully we won't need to.”

Havelock bed and breakfast owner Kelly Ellis said she was puzzled by the council’s sudden U-turn towards looking at a temporary UV treatment option.

“I'd like to know what’s changed and why we were told that it couldn't be done, and then within a few days, told that there is a possible solution.

“I'm concerned about the lack of transparency here.”

She said she spoke to a council water engineer in town on Friday who said there was nothing they could do.

“We were told it can't happen,” Ellis said.

“[They said] ‘we've got no land, we've got no building, and it can't be done’.

“We need people who say ‘this can be done’, rather than people who say we can't.”

Ellis said she also spoke to Kaikōura MP, National’s Stuart Smith on Friday.

“[He] basically was apologising on behalf of the council,” Ellis said.

“I said to him, ‘start representing your constituents rather than the council’.

If the council was caught off guard by the notice, they should have fought back against Taumata Arowai and sought an injunction against the notice, she said.

“On the other hand, [Taumata Arowai] might say ‘we've been telling these people down in Marlborough for years that they needed to sort this stuff out ... and [council have] dragged the chain shamefully’.”

Smith said Taumata Arowai’s decision to ask the council to issue the boil water notice was a long time coming, and not easily reversed.

The council could bulk buy UV treatment systems and provide them on an individual basis, he said.

“I asked them to use their ability to borrow at a lower rate [to buy the UV systems] and have that added to [targeted] rates.”

Further information and frequently asked questions could be found on the council website.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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