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The local council that handles potential lead contamination in water supplies in a coastal area of Otago is offering residents free fruit and vegetables beginning Tuesday.
Dunedin City Council will provide a variety of fruits and vegetables to residents of Waikouaiti, Karitane and Hawksbury until it is clearer if homegrown vegetables irrigated with local water are contaminated, says CEO Sandy Graham.
“This is a very worrying time for the residents of these communities and it is important that we do what we can to help on a practical level as we continue to work to find the cause of the contamination,” he said in a statement.
The product would initially be available Tuesday through Friday at the East Otago Event Center and could be collected during hours the center is open for blood testing.
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Blood tests have been offered to affected residents since Tuesday.
Lead was detected in the water supply at 40 times the safe drinking level in samples from Waikouaiti Golf Club and Karitane Bowls Club on December 8, but authorities did not receive the information until January 7 due to an error in the mail. electronic.
Hamish McNeilly / Stuff
A Waikouaiti resident expresses concern about his homegrown produce.
A sample taken from the Waikouaiti raw water reservoir on January 20 showed elevated levels of lead nine days later. On February 2, Southern District Board of Health Medical Officer Dr. Susan Jack advised supply users not to use tap water for drinking, cooking or food preparation until further notice.
The offer of free fruits and vegetables followed a heated public meeting on Friday in which residents expressed outrage at the way the incident had been handled and, in particular, the time it took to be notified.
A retiree who attended the meeting and grows food to feed her family and neighbors asked what she should do after Waikouaiti residents were told not to harvest fruits and vegetables for several weeks.
Graham said Sunday that the source of the contamination was not yet known, but that possible causes included lead gaskets in older pipes, environmental contamination in the broader catchment or sampling errors.
Tanker trucks were on site to provide clean and safe drinking water.
Hamish McNeilly / Stuff
A sign in Waikouaiti announces a public meeting on the issue of water supply.
The staff had handed out over 2,500 containers for people to use and people could call 03 477 4000 if they needed help collecting water.
Graham said having personnel on the tanker trucks could offer assistance and answer questions starting Tuesday.
The council planned to establish a shelter for concerned residents at the Waikouaiti Library the following week.
Work to excavate and check the condition of some sections of old cast iron water pipes in Waikouaiti was nearing completion. Five sections of the pipeline were being evaluated in the area, including a section at Edinburgh St.
He could plan to replace any old cast iron pipe sections in the near future to eliminate that potential source of contamination from the network.
More water test results were expected on Tuesday.
