A Havelock North woman who fell ill for weeks after drinking contaminated drinking water in 2016 is hopeful the Government's Three Waters reform will bring about positive change.
Around 5500 residents became ill and 45 people were hospitalised following an outbreak of the waterborne disease campylobacteriosis in August 2016. It's also believed to have contributed to four deaths.
Rachael de Koning, who moved to Havelock North in August 2016, was among those affected.
"Drinking rainwater from the roof wasn’t really an option with all the contaminants that you can get so moving into town was quite a treat because suddenly, I could drink in excess from the tap," she told 1News.
Soon after her arrival, heavy rains battered paddocks in the region and contaminating the water with what is believed to have been sheep faecal matter.
“We had that big rain event on the Sunday. By Wednesday I was in hospital being told to drink a lot of water, stay hydrated, so I did.
"Ultimately, that resulted in another visit on Friday to the hospital and I found out later that night that we had had the water contamination and that I was actually sick from caulobacter."
The plan is set to be in place by July 2024. (Source: 1News)
She went for a specialist check-up at the hospital for an unrelated issue several days later, where she was running a high fever.
"I thought perhaps a flu of some sort, went home, had really bad body aches, headaches, I was shaking, nausea, diarrhoea. By Friday, I was just unable to function."
De Koning was again admitted into hospital, where she was given hydrating fluids and strong antibiotics. She was unwell for several weeks, but eventually recovered.
“We were very, very unwell but I really feel for those families who lost people – they actually died. There were probably close to 10,000 people who were affected and not only them, but for example, you can’t care for your children, people are displaced, schools had to shut down – it’s just disgusting."
She said it was "disappointing at the time" and she was left "pretty upset with the council".
"I believed that we pay rates, we should be able to turn our tap on and not have any fear and that just wasn't the case."
READ MORE: Three Waters: Government pushing on with reform plan
While there have been improvements to the region's infrastructure in the years since the outbreak, she said it "shouldn’t take nearly six years – and six years of me needing to purchase water from the shop or filter".
De Koning said she no longer trusts the water from her tap unless it's been filtered.
"I won’t drink from the tap, I won’t let my children drink from the tap – because I don’t trust water.
"We live in one of the most clean and beautiful places in the world and we shouldn’t have to worry that when we turn the tap on, we could get poisoned. It just should not happen."
The Government on Friday outlined its Three Waters plan to centralise the country's drinking, storm and wastewater by transferring authority into four new regional entities.
The plan – which is expected to take effect from July 2024 – will see councils continue to own water entities through a shareholding model, with a two-tier system of regional representative groups and an independent entity board, the latter which makes the operational decisions.
The Minister says the Government has "listened and amended" its plans after receiving feedback. (Source: 1News)
In a statement, the mayors of Hawke's Bay's four local councils said while they were in agreement that change was needed to ensure water infrastructure is "safe, resilient and affordable into the future", they "remain disappointed Government has steadfastly refused to consider Hawke’s Bay’s own credible proposal for a local alternative".
They say their proposal "would see responsibility for three waters services staying in the Bay and achieving the very outcomes Government wants from reform".
"Given Government’s determination to push ahead with creating four mega-entities to take over responsibility for water service delivery from councils, Mayors Craig Little (Wairoa District), Kirsten Wise (Napier City), Sandra Hazlehurst (Hastings District) and Alex Walker (Central Hawke’s Bay District) are vowing to throw their efforts into making sure the people of Hawke’s Bay understand what the changes will mean for them and how they can have a voice as the legislation makes its way through Parliament.
"Mayors say they are committed to advocating for the outcome they believe the people of Hawke’s Bay deserve and they will support their communities to have a voice."
De Koning said while she was initially apprehensive of the Government's Three Waters plan – which will centralise the country’s drinking, storm and wastewater into four regional entities from 2024 – she now believes it will be "a good idea".
“Bringing the Māori and our Government and our people together, they have a respect for their land. I think it’s a good solution to the problem."
She's also pleased to know it won’t be left to the local taxpayers to swallow the costs for improving their infrastructure.
"I think that it’s important that it is shared across the nation and that everyone has equal opportunity to better infrastructure and people who actually care and are going to put the time and effort and energy into resolving the issues. I just hope it never happens again.”
While she no longer drinks from the tap and is concerned just brushing her teeth, "hopefully, in time, these things can change".
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