Brief statement from Steve Taylor, Head of Operations at Water Services Authority – Taumata Arowai about the situation in Waikato and Auckland:

• Our monitoring systems have picked up elevated levels of arsenic in the Waikato River which is drawn on for water supplies in the Hamilton area and contribute to some parts of the Auckland drinking water supply.
• Arsenic is a naturally occurring substance in New Zealand because we are a geothermal country.
• There is no risk to public health. The Maximum Acceptable Value (MAV) for arsenic is 0.01mg/L. Recent testing of water drawn from the Waikato River has shown slightly elevated levels of arsenic of 0.013 mg/L
• This is a short-term exceedance of a long-term MAV. Humans require very long-term exposure to this level of arsenic before public health is of concern. The water is safe to drink.
• WaterCare and Hamilton City are working to reduce levels of arsenic.
• We have asked WaterCare and Hamilton City Council to keep us informed on the results of further testing over the next few days.
• We are monitoring the situation closely.

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