Which is worse? Waikato River or the Havelock Bore
Back in 2012 the prospect of drinking Waikato River water horrified Aucklanders.
Then in 2016 wham! 4000+ needed treatment due to contamination from sheep getting into the Havelock Bore. The single biggest problem in NZ history.
Waikato's Water
Some of what goes into the river upstream of Auckland’s intake pipe:
• Untreated sewage overflows during heavy rainfall
• Waikato's 450,000 cattle effluent
• Nitrate runoff from fertilisers from the 100’s of farms
• Polluted runoff water from industry
In Addition: Nitrates, Salmonella, Campylobacter Giardia, E Coli and Cryptosporidia, dioxin and Lindane, DDT, Malathione and heavy metals contribute to this cocktail.
Treatment
Does your Municipal Water Supplier treat your water?
Some do, and in Havelock's case clearly not sufficiently. How does a 'food' supplier get away with NOT complying with Food Manufacturing Regulations?
The main method of treatment is to filter, then chemically clean the water (with Chlorine and then add Fluoride).
Fluoride is a contentious issue (Mass Medication) around the world.
How good is this treatment?
Filtered, chemicals added, and UV treated this water is safe to drink. However removing heavy metals and chemicals is not easy, so while safe, this water is not a patch on UV treated rain water.
