Bottled drinking water is unnecessary and wasteful – Water New Zealand

29 November 2016

Soaring sales of bottled water means that New Zealanders are throwing away millions of dollars on an unnecessary product.

This follows reports that sales of bottled water in New Zealand have for the past two years, grown by 25 percent per annum.

Water New Zealand chief executive John Pfahlert says that in the majority of cases, buying bottled water is a huge waste of money.

He says it’s ironic that New Zealanders are prepared to pay many times more for water than they need to when most people have access to freely available, quality drinking water simply by turning on a tap.

“It is understandable that recent cases such as the contamination of Havelock North’s water supply have made many people nervous. Havelock North should never have happened and I certainly hope the government inquiry will help to fix any systemic issues that may have led to the crisis.

“However, New Zealanders can be assured that, in the vast majority of cases, the water supplied from their local authority, has been monitored and treated to ensure that it is safe for drinking.

“For instance, the latest data from the Ministry of Health shows that between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2015, nearly 3.7 million New Zealanders had access to drinking water that met drinking water standards in relation to bacterial standards, which is the most important criteria.

That’s 96.8 percent of the population supplied by a utility that served 100 or more people.

Mr Pfahlert says while there is less known about the safety of some small supplies and rainwater systems, for the vast majority of people there is no need to waste money and add further.

“Most New Zealanders are on a supply that is safe so there is no need to waste money and add to our growing mountain of plastic in landfills.”

Water New Zealand is a national not-for-profit organisation which promotes the sustainable management and development of New Zealand’s three waters (freshwater, wastewater and storm water). Water New Zealand is the country's largest water industry body, providing leadership and support in the water sector through advocacy, collaboration and professional development. Its 1,600 members are drawn from all areas of the water management industry including regional councils and territorial authorities, consultants, suppliers, government agencies, academia and scientists.

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