Tuesday 10 December 2019

Ōhakea Contaminated Water Committee welcome announcement from Environment Minister.

The Ōhakea Contaminated Water Committee has today welcomed the announcement that the Government will fund $10.8 million towards a rural water supply for the Ōhakea community affected by PFAS contamination.

The announcement, which was made at a community meeting last night by Environment Minister David Parker, will cover 75% of the costs of design and construction of the new water scheme.

Chair of the Ōhakea Contaminated Water Committee Andy Russell says that the announcement is a promising start.

“The scheme is essential for our community, and we are pleased that we’ve made a big step towards that today, but we are aware that there is still a long way to go.

“For our people, there is a lot of uncertainty. We still don’t know what the long-term health and environmental effects of PFAS contamination are , and that’s something that we’ve been dealing with for the past few years.”

The remaining 25% of the costs of the design and construction of the scheme is proposed to be met by the Manawatū councils. Under the new scheme, which includes the air force base, around 85 rural properties will be supplied with water tank, reticulated clean drinking and stock water rather than having to rely only on tanks and bores.

“We’ve had a huge amount of support from the Councils,” says Mr. Russell. “Moving forward, we are committed to continuing to work with our local Councils to ensure our voice is heard.”

ENDS

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