Rotting animal carcasses have been found in the water supply to two small towns on Banks Peninsula.
Residents in Akaroa and Takamatua have been told to boil all water until further notice or fuel up from a 60,000-litre emergency supply.
It comes after residents in the Dunedin towns of Waikouaiti and Karitāne were told last week to stop using tap water following the discovery of elevated lead levels.
Civil Defence has moved in to Akaroa after text alerts last night revealed the discovery of two dead possums and birds in its water supply on Tuesday.
While the council were aware of the issue several days ago, locals were alerted just last night.
The Canterbury District Health Board told 1 NEWS it was only alerted to the incident at 4.24pm last night. The council admitted it dropped the ball, saying there was a breakdown in its process and the delay is its fault.
Testing has confirmed while there was enough chlorine to kill bacteria, it will not stop the protozoa risk.
Protoza is a group of parasites, including cryptosporidium and giardia, which can cause fever, nausea and gastro problems.
Alerts have been issued to cell phones and signage has been erected on the side of the road to warn people about the issue while council staff work out how to fix the problem - something that could take several weeks.
“A deep clean, empty it out, get in there, take everything out, chlorinate it all again and do the necessary repairs to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Christchurch City Council's Adam Twose said.
The issue is causing headaches for businesses reliant on local tourism.
Ma Maison’s Amanda Hailwood said the restaurant has been forced to buy bagged ice as they wait for the problem to be fixed.
“We can’t use our ice machines. Boiling the jugs, running up and down the stairs trying to get the jugs boiled - it's all just extra work that we all weren’t really planning on,” she said.
“It’s a bit of a shock in the middle of dinner service last night to find out that ‘hey, this is going to be us for the next couple of weeks’.”
Fresh drinking water will be available on tap until the issue is resolved.
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