A faulty test may be why Hastings District Council was unaware for five days that the Havelock North water supply was contaminated. Before the contamination the council were testing the water supply twice a week in line with New Zealand drinking water standards. Although Mr Yule said the water was likely to have been contaminated on the Monday, a test the next day did not reveal any contamination. A Hastings District Council spokeswoman said there was a possibility the test taken on Tuesday had been faulty. Water treatment specialist Iain Rabbitts also said it was unlikely, but possible that the test simply did not detect any contamination.

Source: Otago Daily Times August 29, 2016 21:33 UTC