Graham Button, of Milton, said he, partner Linda Crawford, his grandson and his partner were only now recovering from four days of vomiting and diarrhoea he believed were caused by E. coli in the town’s water supply.
On Thursday, the Clutha District Council issued a boil water notice for Milton through its own media channels, alerting residents to a single positive E. coli test result.
However, Mr Button said by the time his family got wind of the notice on Saturday, it was already too late.
"By the time we heard there was E. coli in the water, we’d been drinking it for two days straight.
"We shared some cordial with our grandson and his partner on Thursday and we take water to bed at night.
"I’m feeling a bit better now, but Linda has been vomiting for four days. Luckily, we’re pretty healthy, but if you were a pensioner living alone you could be lying there dead and no-one would be any the wiser. The communication from council is just abysmal."
Mr Button said the council should make "every effort" to notify all households as quickly as possible.
"It’s woefully inadequate to simply stick a notice up on your website. Who looks at the council website every day in case there’s a boil water notice?"
He questioned why public media were not also used.
"If you stick it in the ODT and do a letter drop, at least you’ve made the effort to reach as many people as possible. I feel we’re being treated with contempt."
A council spokeswoman said Mr Button’s case appeared to be isolated, and moved to reassure residents.
"Council has undertaken a widespread sampling programme across the Milton water supply since the one sample with elevated E. coli was reported. All resamples ... have each returned negative results.
"Investigations are still under way, but ultimately we may not be able to identify the actual source. The fact that all resamples have returned negative results is very encouraging and, subject to stabilising chlorine levels, should allow the notice to be lifted soon."
She said the council posted the alert to its website, Antenno app and social media pages, and on the Milton Library message board.
"Council ... will continue to consider what other forms of messaging could be utilised" for best coverage.
