Plumbosolvency

The Christchurch City Council is recommending residents flush a cup of water from their drinking water taps each morning, in line with Ministry of Health recommendations.

The Ministry of Health advises some plumbing fittings potentially allow minute traces of metals to accumulate in water left in the fittings for several hours.

“The health risk is low,” says Canterbury’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr Alistair Humphrey. “However, we recommend flushing a small amount of water from your drinking tap each morning, or after you’ve been away from your property, to remove any metals that may have dissolved from the plumbing fittings.”

The Ministry of Health is recommending this simple precaution for all households in New Zealand, including those on public and private water supplies in the Christchurch and Banks Peninsula areas.
For the purpose of water conservation, the Council suggests using this water for watering plants or dishwashing.

For more information, contact the Christchurch City Council on (03) 941-8999, or the South Island Drinking Water Assessment Unit (at Community and Public Health, a division of the Canterbury
District Health Board), on (03) 364-1777.

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