Safe drinking water for Tokomaru 'a basic human right'

The Tokomaru community is taking its case for better drinking water to the Human Rights Commission.

The Horowhenua town's residents were told earlier this year they would need to boil their E- and D-grade water until at least 2025 because plans by the district council to upgrade treatment facilities were put on the backburner.

The community has been on a risk-management plan and boiling water for about three years already because its water supply does not meet Ministry of Health standards.

Tokomaru Village and Community Association chairman Peter Ward said safe drinking water was a basic human right.

"I would consider it an abuse of the council's role to put in a 12-year boil-water notice," he said. "I could accept a year or two, two to five years would be pushing it, but 12 years is beyond the pale and abusive.

"We anticipated they would take refuge in legislation - it says if they have a risk management plan then that is sufficient. We are saying ‘let's test that under the United Nations' - is a risk management plan enough? I don't believe it is.

"No-one anticipated they were going to put a risk management plan in place for 12 years."

Horowhenua mayor Brendan Duffy said it was "absolutely fine" if the town wanted to go to the commission.

"It's a decision that community has obviously made and they can go down that path. We know what we are doing and if that's what they want to do, good on them.

"The council, along with the [Ministry of Health], know the risk management plan we have in place is entirely appropriate."

This week Palmerston North Mayor Jono Naylor said the city council would investigate the feasibility of helping Tokomaru by running a pipeline out to the town.

Mr Naylor said he had been approached by Mr Duffy for assistance.




(2013-07-11/stuff)