Darfield Water Supply Contamination Event - Lessons Learned
Annual Conference
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In August 2012 loss of chlorination of the Darfield backup water supply coincided with failure of the borehole pump for the primary secure groundwater source. At around the same time as this incident, there were 138 suspected cases of campylobacter in the Central Canterbury town. This paper discusses learning from an event that no water supplier would want to happen.
The authors believe that some of the underlying issues that contributed to (but on their own did not cause) the contamination may well be relevant to many suppliers. The background to the incident is described and lessons for wider application in other water supplies are discussed.