Formal complaint: public notification of Waiouru Water Toxins
On Wednesday January 29th, 2025, Erin Speedy filed a formal complaint on behalf of the Waiouru community, to relevant authorities regarding the public notification of toxins in the Waiouru water supply.
Read the full formal complaint below.
To Defence Estate and Infrastructure, Downer Water, Ruapehu District Council and whom else this may concern
I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding the recent water testing and public notification of the Waiouru water network and the inadequate communication from Defence Estate and Infrastructure (DEI), NZ Army and New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) to the Waiouru community.
On Friday, January 24, at 4:31 PM, a notice was posted on the Waiouru Community Care and News (WCCN) Facebook page advising residents that drinking water had tested positive for elevated levels of toxins. I include the full notice below for reference:
“Water Advisory Notice
Water testing has recently been carried out on the Waiouru Water Network, covering the Waiouru military camp, housing, and township of Waiouru, as part of regular sampling. Analysis shows elevated levels of naturally occurring minerals Aluminium and Lead. The levels detected pose no risk to health, and we are working with the New Zealand water regulator Taumata Arowai, along with water operator Downer Water, to conduct further sampling and analysis to bring these levels down asap. Any enquiries can be directed to: [details redacted].”
Immediately after this notice was published, I emailed the provided contact at 7:37 PM to request further details, specifically the actual toxin levels detected. My aim was to determine whether the recorded levels were within the Maximum Acceptable Values (MAVs) set by water regulatory standards and whether or not we needed to bring in our own drinking concerns if we were concerned.
I, along with other concerned community members, did not receive a response until Tuesday, January 28, three days after my inquiry. The response we received was vague and wholly inadequate, stating:
"Thank you for the enquiry, the team are working on the response and will be back in touch directly or collectively to the community, we are expecting an update today."
The next update came via a Facebook post on the Waiouru Community Care and News Facebook page by the NZ Army on Tuesday at 12pm, but it provided a different contact email address adding confusion as to whom exactly was managing these issues and the public notification required.
On January 29, five days after the initial notice and 16 days after the testing on January 8, the actual toxin levels were disclosed. These levels were significantly above the regulatory standards:
Aluminium: Detected at 5.12, exceeding the MAV of 1.0
Lead: Detected at 0.016, exceeding the MAV of 0.01
Throughout this period, we were not even informed that the detected toxin levels exceeded regulatory standards, despite requests for that specific information. All we were told was that they were safe, despite the fact they received MAVs and DEI would have held this information.
Purposely withholding that information has left the community in the dark, unable to make informed decisions about water use. If we had been fully informed earlier, we could have taken steps such as purchasing bottled water to protect ourselves and our whānau.
It is not the role of DEI to determine what is "safe" for the community and tell us it is "safe", despite the levels exceeding the regulatory drinking standards.
The regulatory standards for drinking water exist to protect public health by ensuring that toxin levels remain within safe limits, and adherence to these standards is essential to prevent potential short- and long-term health risks for communities.
If those levels exceed the standards, those who are consuming the water not only deserve to know, they have a right to know.
We should be able to place our trust and confidence in the people and organisations who are responsible for looking after our beloved Waiouru community, but this situation has made it clear that we can’t. It is abundantly clear that both the systems in place and those responsible for overseeing them have failed us, and the faith we had in their ability to do the right thing has been completely eroded.
DEI has a duty to provide accurate, complete, and timely information so we can make our own decisions about our health and safety which was not done at any point until the MAVs had been brought within the regulatory standards.
The lack of timely and transparent communication caused unnecessary anxiety and fear within the Waiouru community. The failures in this situation are deeply concerning which I headline again for you:
Delayed notification: It took 16 days to inform the community of elevated toxin levels.
Lack of transparency: The actual levels were not disclosed initially, preventing informed decision-making.
Inadequate responses: Email inquiries received delayed and insufficient responses, failing to address valid concerns.
These failings demonstrate a serious lapse in the public notification of this issue by both DEI and NZ Army. It is unacceptable to withhold critical information about public health and to provide incomplete or delayed communication.
Additionally, I wish to highlight two critical issues with the first water advisory notice:
The statement that aluminium and lead are “naturally occurring minerals” was completely false, given they are categorised under the legislation of Water Services (Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand) Regulations 2022 as “inorganic determinands”.
The claim that "The levels detected pose no risk to health" — without actually telling us that they exceeded the drinking water standards — is absolutely not good enough and breaches the Water Services Act (2021) under section 22: "Duty to comply with drinking water standards." This legislation states that a drinking water supplier must ensure that the drinking water supplied complies with the drinking water standards. If a supplier’s drinking water does not comply with the drinking water standards, the supplier must:
"(f) take all practicable steps, to the satisfaction of Taumata Arowai, to advise affected consumers and drinking water suppliers that drinking water does not comply with the drinking water standards and what measures should be taken to protect public health (for example, boiling)."
At no point were we told that our drinking water did not comply with drinking water standards until Thursday, so that we could make informed decisions about whether or not we wanted to consume the water, which in my personal belief, is a massive breach of standards and legislation.
I strongly urge the NZDF and DEI to conduct a full review of this situation, including:
Immediate implementation of transparent communication protocols: All water quality testing results, particularly those exceeding MAVs, should be promptly disclosed to the community with the levels being publicly notified; and include the release of past testing results conducted in September, November and December 2024.
Improved response times: Acknowledge and respond meaningfully to community concerns within 24 hours.
Public accountability: A report on the handling of this incident should be shared with the Waiouru community, detailing corrective actions taken to ensure this never happens again.
I trust you will treat this matter with the seriousness it deserves and take immediate steps to rectify these failings. I look forward to your response outlining how you intend to address this complaint.
I have attached all communication the community has received through the Waiouru Community Care and News Facebook page for your reference.
Ngā mihi,
Erin Speedy
