Wairoa’s water quality will not be affected by the closure of the local water testing laboratory.

The only change will be that the water testing will be carried out by an external/out-of-town laboratory provider with International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) level 1 accreditation.

The affordability of meeting accreditation requirements has forced the Wairoa District Council to close its Water Testing Laboratory at the Frasertown Water Treatment Plant. However, water testing will still be carried out in line with the Taumata Arowai requirements and regulations.

Wairoa District Council Chief Executive Kitea Tipuna said it was not viable for the Council to retain the local laboratory. “The existing Wairoa water testing laboratory operates at level 2 accreditation, with the in-house testing costing around $42,000 a year. The Water Services Act 2021 requires all drinking water testing laboratories to be level 1 accredited in order to continue compliant testing of drinking water samples. Level 1 accreditation would cost the Council around $150,000 a year, or $2,483 per water sample, based on an average of 60 water samples a year.

“It is with regret that we have had to make this decision, but the reality is that outsourcing this service is the most cost-effective and pragmatic option, with the annual cost expected to drop to around $27,000 a year – or $450 per sample.

“We are disappointed, but effectively, our sampling is too small to warrant the annual expenditure needed to meet the requirements. We know this will disrupt those in our community who have their water tested through the local laboratory, but our district simply does not have the scale needed to make the testing cost-efficient.”

Mr Tipuna said the laboratory is currently the only water testing laboratory in the district. “Council’s preference has always been to retain a local water testing service, particularly as Wairoa is a remote district that can be adversely impacted by natural events. However, the cost of meeting compliance has left us with no choice.”

Water samples will no longer be accepted at the Council’s offices or at the Wairoa Water Treatment Plant after 31 October 2024.

15 October 2024

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