1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,760
Speaker 1: The Water Services Authority has been notified of increase levels

2
00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:06,720
Speaker 1: of arsenic in the Waikato River, which feeds into the

3
00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:09,480
Speaker 1: Auckland and Hamilton water supply. The agency says there is

4
00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:14,080
Speaker 1: no health risk in drinking the water, but the maximum

5
00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:18,160
Speaker 1: acceptable value for arsenic is zero point zero one milligrams elater,

6
00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:21,480
Speaker 1: an incredibly low amount apparently, but they have seen levels

7
00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,560
Speaker 1: between zero points zero one one milligram and zero point

8
00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:29,280
Speaker 1: zero one five milligrams, which is quote marginally above the

9
00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,080
Speaker 1: acceptable value for drinking water. Steve Taylor is the head

10
00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,840
Speaker 1: of operations at Water Services Authority, needs with us this morning. Steve,

11
00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:39,040
Speaker 1: good morning, welcome to the show. Have you had any

12
00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,440
Speaker 1: new results in overnight since since you last spoke?

13
00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:45,440
Speaker 2: No, I haven't. There's been a number of samples that

14
00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:48,400
Speaker 2: were taken, yes, just to can fill what those levels

15
00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:50,839
Speaker 2: are in fact that there's been any decrease as a

16
00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,960
Speaker 2: result of the actions that water Care has taken over

17
00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:58,040
Speaker 2: the last few hours. That are expecting those results this morning?

18
00:00:58,520 --> 00:00:59,480
Speaker 1: What time this morning?

19
00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,319
Speaker 2: Well, I have to check of the laboratory, but I

20
00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:08,440
Speaker 2: understand they've been prioritized with haste, so we'd expect setos

21
00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:09,440
Speaker 2: sons are available.

22
00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:12,759
Speaker 1: How can you say that it's safe to drink even

23
00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:16,240
Speaker 1: though it's above the acceptable value for drinking?

24
00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:21,520
Speaker 2: Yes, acceptable value for a drinking water is designed for

25
00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,440
Speaker 2: long term exposure. So in other words, that someone was

26
00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:29,640
Speaker 2: drinking amount of water over forty fifty years, and we

27
00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:33,000
Speaker 2: might expect to see some health effects. That's up here

28
00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,720
Speaker 2: after forty or fifty years. So prolonged extensive drinking at

29
00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,720
Speaker 2: levels above and makes them acceptable value. What we've got

30
00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:46,119
Speaker 2: here is a marginal increase above acceptable value that would

31
00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:50,600
Speaker 2: expect to see reduced overcoming days.

32
00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:53,480
Speaker 1: When did you so, how long is it? When did

33
00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:54,960
Speaker 1: you first find out about the result.

34
00:01:55,960 --> 00:02:01,320
Speaker 2: So we found out about these results yesterday yesterday morning.

35
00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:06,160
Speaker 2: Bear in mind that the Whitecatta River naturally has underlying

36
00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:10,040
Speaker 2: levels of arsenic inner and the treatment plants for both

37
00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:14,120
Speaker 2: Auckland City and Hamilton City do that arsenic. So they

38
00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:17,239
Speaker 2: removed the arsenic before it's put into the drinking water.

39
00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,400
Speaker 2: That's an important part of their treatment. And we know

40
00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:26,600
Speaker 2: from what these activities. Immediately after receiving these notifications, they

41
00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:31,080
Speaker 2: are changing their treatment process to extally ensure the increased

42
00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:33,519
Speaker 2: levels of the arsenic areagely removed from the water.

43
00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,000
Speaker 1: So did both you as a regulator and water Care

44
00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:39,000
Speaker 1: both only found out about this yesterday.

45
00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,400
Speaker 2: Yes, that's great, but because Hamilton.

46
00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,079
Speaker 1: City Council said that they testing during a stage of

47
00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,280
Speaker 1: the treatment process on the nineteenth and twentieth of November

48
00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:51,919
Speaker 1: recorded results that were elevated.

49
00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:57,880
Speaker 2: Yes, so we're aware that results within the river itself,

50
00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,080
Speaker 2: so this is before the point of treatment and vary.

51
00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:08,600
Speaker 2: So we were notified. I'm just not data today Thursday,

52
00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:14,360
Speaker 2: on Thursday morning at the levels within the point network

53
00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:17,960
Speaker 2: in Hamilton or above the acceptable value and at that

54
00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,480
Speaker 2: point that's when we've requested ongoing action.

55
00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:25,560
Speaker 1: You've so you found out actually a week ago that

56
00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:31,440
Speaker 1: there were elevated levels of arsenic in the river and.

57
00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:37,200
Speaker 2: You are saying that we were notified on the twenty seventh,

58
00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,080
Speaker 2: so that's the last night.

59
00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:46,920
Speaker 3: Sorry, So why is it so Hamilton City Council noted

60
00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,880
Speaker 3: that they had elevated levels on the nineteenth and twentieth

61
00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:50,560
Speaker 3: of November.

62
00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:53,880
Speaker 1: That's a week ago, right, So why weren't you told?

63
00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,280
Speaker 2: I can't comment on that. We'd expect to be notified

64
00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:04,920
Speaker 2: with any increase and levels above the math and there's

65
00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:07,360
Speaker 2: a requirement that we are notified of those results.

66
00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,440
Speaker 1: Okay, So if you weren't, what do you do about it?

67
00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:13,960
Speaker 2: And so I'll be flying up with Hamilton to check

68
00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,440
Speaker 2: what the results were the tilling of those results. Again,

69
00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:19,440
Speaker 2: if it's a spike in the source water, we should

70
00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,880
Speaker 2: have been notified about that. It's possible that that was

71
00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:25,680
Speaker 2: an issue that's been managed through as part of their

72
00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:30,520
Speaker 2: treatment process. But again it's important that we do receive

73
00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,000
Speaker 2: notice of these results so that we can ensure that

74
00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:36,080
Speaker 2: supplies are actually taking the appropriate action.

75
00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,240
Speaker 1: When you say how when you say water Care is

76
00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:42,240
Speaker 1: changing or rejigging the way that it processes the water,

77
00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:45,760
Speaker 1: what exactly does that mean and why aren't we doing

78
00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:47,040
Speaker 1: that already?

79
00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:50,120
Speaker 2: Yeah? So what it Care has got the ability as

80
00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,719
Speaker 2: part of its natural treatment of water to turn it

81
00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:57,200
Speaker 2: on different treatment plants as part of its day to

82
00:04:57,279 --> 00:05:01,440
Speaker 2: day operations, So it has the ability it can reduce

83
00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:05,240
Speaker 2: the intake from its white cat A treatment and increase

84
00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,560
Speaker 2: the amount of that's being supplied from its dams and

85
00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,160
Speaker 2: other sources. So it's switched out process on And what

86
00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:15,680
Speaker 2: it means is the water that is coming through the

87
00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,000
Speaker 2: way Kato treatment plan has slowed down, which means the

88
00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,920
Speaker 2: ability for those folds to remove the arts increase of

89
00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:24,360
Speaker 2: so the slow the water moves through those filters, the

90
00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:26,160
Speaker 2: more efficient the process is.

91
00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:28,960
Speaker 1: All right, Steve, you can guarantee as one hundred percent

92
00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:31,279
Speaker 1: there will be no ill health effects from this, nothing

93
00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:33,760
Speaker 1: for pregnant women, nothing for the elderly, nothing like that.

94
00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:37,719
Speaker 2: So we're confident that these levels are safe to drink,

95
00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:41,320
Speaker 2: but would expect both Hamilton and water Care to be

96
00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:45,200
Speaker 2: acting proactively just to reduce any risk.

97
00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:47,480
Speaker 1: Steve, thanks for your time this morning. Steve Taylor, head

98
00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:50,200
Speaker 1: of operations at the Water Services Authority.

99
00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:54,120
Speaker 2: For more from earlier edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live

100
00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:57,279
Speaker 2: to News Talks. It'd be from five am weekdays, or

101
00:05:57,320 --> 00:05:59,240
Speaker 2: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio