19 Sep 2023

Bar owner frustrated by Queenstown water situation

From Midday Report, 12:17 pm on 19 September 2023

A Queenstown bar owner says the council has let people get sick off the water for 5 weeks while providing no information to the community .

All properties on Queenstown's town water supply are under a boil-water notice after eight cases of Cryptosporidium infection have been confirmed in the town.

The owner of Morrisons Irish Bar in Queenstown Adam Nagy told Charlotte Cook they are frantically trying to find ways to stay open because they can't use the ice, water or coffee machines among other headaches.

Queenstown Lakes District Council issued a statement this afternoon saying the confirmed source is not yet known, and there is no confirmed link to the local water supply. However, it was keeping the boil water notice in place in line with advice from Te Whatu Ora and the drinking water regulator, Taumata Arowai.

It says the council increased the frequency of its testing on Friday 8 September following reports of people living in Fernhill feeling unwell.

The tests look for indicators of contamination via the presence of E.coli or total coliforms, and also checks residual chlorine levels. All results to date have been, and continue to be, normal.