Water  |  Yesterday

Share this story

Christchurch has one of the last city Council water testing laboratories in the country, with technicians working 365 days a year to ensure the quality and safety of our water.

Technicians work on site at the purpose-built laboratory, carrying out daily chemical and biological tests to make sure the presence of specific chemicals or pathogens are within acceptable limits.

Laboratory Manager Belinda Wilson says Christchurch’s water comes from deep underground aquifers, providing some of the highest quality drinking water in the country – all of which is tested at Council’s in-house laboratory.

“On any given day several water samples are taken across Christchurch and Banks Peninsula directly from well sources and within the network, including from extremity points such as reservoirs.”

Lab technicians are looking for bacterial contamination, checking the level of chlorine, and monitoring the well sources for chemicals including iron, manganese, nitrate, arsenic, copper, lead and mercury.

“The team also monitors wastewater discharge from industrial sites, rivers and other waterbodies, and our Council managed wastewater treatment plants to ensure compliance with various regulatory frameworks.”

Ms Wilson says having an in-house laboratory is hugely beneficial as they’re readily responsive for any additional sampling needed to help in investigations.

“Our samplers are always on site, so we can respond quickly and instantly take tests if we need to be reactive to something at the treatment plant.

“It’s an added bonus that we can do both sampling and testing, so we’re able to easily discuss with the analysts if something looks awry.”

Christchurch City Council’s laboratory has expanded overtime to keep up with the evolving water testing standards, development in resource consenting and requirements of the treatment plant.

“The job of the laboratory is to contribute to keeping the public safe,” Ms Wilson says.

“Day to day we might be out in the field, testing water samples in the lab, or spending time analysing data – all to ensure the quality and safety of our water.

“It’s very rewarding to know the work we’re doing is providing access to clean water that our residents can trust is safe to drink.”