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Lower Hutt's public artesian well taps closed

Hutt City Council and Wellington Water, on the advice of Regional Public Health, have closed the public artesian water supply taps at Buick Street, Petone; outside the Dowse on Laings Road; and at Riverside Drive in Waiwhetu, until further notice.

This decision has been made due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the risks of community transmission. The public taps are very popular, and neither Council or Wellington Water have the ability to monitor the safe use of these facilities.

“The decision to stop access to the artesian well taps is not an easy one to make given the high number of people in our community using them on a daily basis, but it’s the right one given the pandemic,” says Jo Miller Chief Executive Hutt City Council.

“Water from the taps, like your tap water at home is safe to drink. The issue here is that we cannot control people touching the taps, or the physical distance of people using or waiting to use the taps, and so increasing the risk of community transmission of this deadly virus.

“As soon as we get advice from public health authorities that it is safe to re-open these facilities, we will do that,” says Jo Miller.

Published: 26 March 2020