Five Arrowtown households using creek water "unfit for human consumption" due to increased pollution, are now asking to be connected to the Arrowtown water supply.
Gaynor Shepherd, and her husband Roger, have lived near the unnamed creek which runs parallel to McDonnell Rd since 1999, and blame development upstream for increasing levels of pollution.
Speaking in the public forum at yesterday's Queenstown Lakes District Council infrastructure services committee meeting, Mrs Shepherd said the creek had until recently been "more than adequate" for domestic purposes.
During the last 10 years, she said, the water quality had deteriorated to the point that it would be classed as unfit for human consumption according to New Zealand water standards.
"The QLDC, together with ORC have failed to protect our waterway from 'progress' to the point where the total coliform count has jumped from 16 per 100ml in May 2010, to 435mpn/100ml in August 2011. This poses a risk to users [of] E. Coli, particularly to our neighbours with four school-age children."
Lack of care from the McDonnell Rd housing development had contributed to the problem, said Mrs Shepherd, who now only drinks bottled water.
"There is garden waste, dog faeces, plastic bags etc; untreated stormwater from the houses and road drain into the creek - possibly with weed killers and petrol and diesel run-off."
The golf course and cattle further along also contributed, she said, and the drainage of swamp land for ponding and bridges meant the loss of "a natural filter for the waterway".
Consequently, she said they had since approached manager of council-owned company Three Waters, Gerry Essenberg, who had informed her that joining the supply was feasible, "but would be at a huge cost, which we and our neighbours cannot afford". She pleaded for the QLDC to restore their water supply to "a civilised state".
" . . . we had a perfectly safe unpolluted water supply until 'progress' and development by QLDC, and ORC not enforcing water control has turned our creek into a horrible undrinkable source."
Infrastructure committee services chairman Lyal Cocks said Mrs Shepherd's submission would be considered.
