Dangers of private water supplies highlighted by toddler's near death experience

Two year old Albertine Morken has a smile back on her face and her appetite has come back.

A relief for father Daniel and mother Zoe after a severe gastro infection.

“We’ve just seen her progressively get better, more energy, more colour in her face.” Mr Morken told 1 NEWS.

But three weeks ago she wasn’t so rosy, after contracting Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), a hard to detect gastro infection caused by a strain of E.coli.

Hospital staff prepared Mr Morken for the worst.

“They said we won’t tell your wife this but you have to realise there is a chance she could die here.”

She was rushed from Hawke's Bay to Auckland's Starship hospital as the infection attacked her kidneys and red blood cells. Read more - Includes comments by Jim Graham - Water New Zealand