City's water source clearer than expected after fire

Dunedin's main water source could be back in action sooner than initially thought, following a massive fire near Middlemarch earlier this month.

The blaze burned across 5000ha of land, including the Deep Stream catchment, which usually provides 80% of the city's water supply.

The catchment was believed to be contaminated with firefighting foam and ash, but testing showed that was unlikely.

The Dunedin City Council revealed it had spent $60,000 on the incident so far.

Council network, catchment and maintenance manager Mike Perkins said samples from the Deep Stream catchment showed fire suppressant chemicals in the water were below detectable limits.  Read more