The Green Party says while it is relieved the cause of the recent 'boil water' notice in Auckland was easily addressed, more action is needed to deal with the regular and widespread contamination of drinking water elsewhere in the country.
"New Zealanders should be able to turn on their tap and access safe, clean drinking water," says Green Party spokesperson for the environment Lan Pham.
"While in some cases, drinking water is contaminated as it moves through pipes in our towns and cities, in many cases it is contaminated at its source, in lakes, rivers, and groundwater."
Data released to the Green Party shows 26 'boil water' and 17 'do not drink' notices had already been issued in 2026 as of 11 March, prior to the notice issued in Auckland yesterday.
In 2025, 91 'boil water' and 53 'do not drink' notices were issued, with 516 lab samples of water quality breaching a limit for safe drinking water in national standards.
Many of the notices have been issued at schools, with analysis showing that last year over 9,000 students across more than 70 schools and pre-schools faced unsafe drinking water, with water breaching safe Drinking Water Standards at some point during the year. So far in 2026, 16 schools have issued 'do not drink' or 'boil water' notices.
"The Havelock North Drinking Water Inquiry stressed that the protection of drinking water sources should be expressly recognised in resource management legislation as a matter of national importance.
“But the Government's resource management overhaul currently underway only requires consenting authorities to 'have regard to' effects of activities on drinking water quality."
"Almost all New Zealanders get their drinking water from a river, lake, or groundwater."
"When we protect these sources of water from pollution, we can be more confident the water coming out of our taps will be safe to drink, even if there's a failure at the treatment plant or somewhere else in the process."
"New Zealanders deserve better for something as important as the water we all rely on for life," says Pham.
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