Chlorine free water back on at taps

Chlorine free water has returned to two community taps in Christchurch.

Christchurch City Council’s Burnside and Keyes drinking water stations have been upgraded to comply with Government drinking water rules.

The tap at Burnside Park is open now and staff are working to open the New Brighton tap at 345 Keyes Road next week.

Containers need to be clean, and people should be considerate of how much water they take at a time.

Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger said he was thrilled with the news.

“I am so pleased that once again anyone who wants free access to water without chlorine can take their containers down to whichever community drinking water station is closest to them and fill up.”

“Having access to chlorine free water is so important to us here in Christchurch and Council staff have worked hard to bring these taps up to standard,” Mayor Mauger said.

“We know getting chlorine out of all the water in Christchurch is incredibly unlikely, so we have to take having these taps on for the community as a small win.”

Chlorine was introduced to all water supply zones in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula to comply with the Water Services Act 2021 and associated rules.

The Council closed the taps as they did not comply with these drinking water standards.

However, work to upgrade the filling stations has been completed so the water now goes through a cartridge filter and UV treatment on site but remains chlorine free.

The Council is underway with an extensive programme of work to upgrade the water supply which includes installing continuous monitoring equipment and replacing the existing temporary chlorination system.