A planned 1080 aerial drop near Luggate has been put on hold because of concerns part of a creek used for household water was inside the drop zone.
About 3000ha of land in the Alice Burn area was to be treated aerially with 1080 by Waikato-based pest control company EcoFX as part of Ospri's TBFree programme.
Dead Horse Creek which is used by at least two families for their household water is inside the drop zone.
EcoFX says the closest area to be treated with 1080 is about 600m from the Luggate township.
An information leaflet sent to residents by the company says the township's water supply would not be affected by the operation.
Emily Cane, one of the residents who took their water from the Dead Horse Creek, said she was hugely relieved Ospri and EcoFX had postponed the drop.
While her water was taken from outside the exclusion zone, she was still concerned pellets could fall into the creek further up stream.
''We're now looking forward to having someone come to us and explain what's going on because we still aren't sure.''
A letter advising residents of the drop, delivered last Thursday after the pre-feed bait had already been dropped, was not good enough, Mrs Cane said.
Ospri senior communications adviser Cameron Williamson said the operation was now on hold. Asked if there were concerns about Dead Horse Creek, Mr Williamson said more information would be available this week.
Notice and timing of an aerial 1080 drop was in the hands of the contractor, because it was weather dependent, Mr Williamson said.
There would be more consultation with the Luggate community before anything else happened, he said.
Consent for the drop was given by the Southern District Health Board.
Public Health South medical officer of health Dr Naomi Gough said enforcement officers consulted the applicant to assess the information provided in the application, so risks for each operation could be assessed.
It was unlikely the identification of the additional water supplies would change the current permission conditions, she said.
It was the applicant's role to carry out the consultation and communication concerning the drop, Dr Gough said.
Information on the location of water supplies was provided by the applicant following discussions with the relevant council and private supply owners.
Part of the 3000ha included two areas of Department of Conservation land.
Senior biodiversity ranger Paul Hondelink said even though Doc had consented to 298ha of conservation land being covered by the aerial drop, it was not involved in the operation.
