5 May 2026

Formal Proposal — Household Water Filtration Remedy Due to Inadequate Water Safety Assurance QLDC

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Kia ora Tracy,

Thank you for your email.

As the primary water supplier to the district, QLDC is required to provide a supply of water to homes and businesses that is safe for human consumption.

You can find more information regarding water treatment, treatment upgrades and water monitoring on QLDC’s website: QLDC – Supply and Treatment

Please confirm by return email whether the information publicly available on the website sufficiently addresses your request.

In relation to your proposal for remedial action, the @QLDC Services Team can lodge a Request for Service to the relevant department.

Kind regards,

Larissa

From: F Q <[email protected]>
Sent: 05 May 2026 09:12
To: Information Request <[email protected]>; Records <[email protected]>
Subject: Formal Proposal — Household Water Filtration Remedy Due to Inadequate Water Safety Assurance

Subject: Formal Proposal — Household Water Filtration Remedy Due to Inadequate Water Safety Assurance

To: QUEENSTOWN DISTRICT, COUNCIL, CEO AND MAYOR AND WATER SERVICES

I write regarding the council’s water supply, water-quality monitoring, and the charges imposed on residents for water-related services.

This is a formal proposal for remedial action.

The issue is straightforward. Residents are being charged significant rates, water charges, infrastructure charges, wastewater charges, and associated service costs. However, the council has not provided adequate assurance that the water supplied to residents is being tested, monitored, and verified for all contaminants of reasonable public-health concern.

In particular, I request confirmation of whether the council is testing for, or has excluded from routine testing, the following:

1. PFAS and other persistent chemicals;

2. microplastics and nanoplastics;

3. heavy metals;

4. cyanotoxins and other neurotoxic compounds;

5. endocrine-disrupting compounds;

6. pharmaceutical residues;

7. industrial contaminants;

8. wastewater-related contaminants;

9. agrichemical residues;

10. pathogens and sewage-related indicators;

11. any contaminants arising from discharge, dilution, land application, fertiliser inputs, biosolids, sludge, leachate, or industrial by-products.

If the council can provide evidence that the water is properly monitored and safe for domestic consumption, please provide that evidence.

If the council cannot provide that assurance, then I request that the council fund an appropriate household filtration and treatment system for my property until full assurance can be provided.

The requested remedy is reasonable because:

1. the council is charging for water-related services;

2. residents rely on the council’s representations regarding water safety;

3. residents cannot reasonably be expected to pay for a service while also privately funding protection against risks the council has not adequately excluded;

4. public-health protection should not be shifted onto individual households without disclosure, remedy, or adjustment;

5. where monitoring is incomplete, the benefit of doubt should favour the resident, not the charging authority.

I therefore ask the council to provide, within 10 working days:

1. the full water-testing schedule for my supply area;

2. the most recent test results;

3. the contaminants not tested for and the reason each is excluded;

4. the statutory standard or guideline relied on for the testing programme;

5. the person or unit responsible for deciding the testing suite;

6. the person or unit responsible for public notification if risk is identified;

7. the council’s position on funding a household filtration system where full safety assurance cannot be provided;

8. the review or complaint pathway if this request is refused.

For clarity, I am not asking for a generic assurance that the water is “compliant”. I am asking for the evidence relied on to support that assurance.

If the council declines to fund a filtration system, please provide the reasons for refusal, the statutory basis relied on, and the evidence showing why such a remedy is unnecessary.

Please confirm receipt of this proposal and place it on the relevant water services, public-health, infrastructure, and governance files.

Yours faithfully,

Tracy

On May 5, 2026 at 1:48 PM, <Information Request> wrote:

Kia ora Tracy,

Thank you for your email.

As the primary water supplier to the district, QLDC is required to provide a supply of water to homes and businesses that is safe for human consumption.

You can find more information regarding water treatment, treatment upgrades and water monitoring on QLDC’s website: QLDC – Supply and Treatment

Please confirm by return email whether the information publicly available on the website sufficiently addresses your request.

In relation to your proposal for remedial action, the @QLDC Services Team can lodge a Request for Service to the relevant department.

Kind regards,

Larissa

Re: Formal Proposal — Household Water Filtration Remedy Due to Inadequate Water Safety Assurance 5/05/2026, 1:55 pm

Larissa,

Thank you for your response.

Your reply does not address the substance of the request.

A general reference to a website does not satisfy the requirement to provide the specific information sought, nor does it discharge the Council’s obligations under the Official Information Act 1982.

For clarity:

1. I am not requesting general information about water supply or treatment processes.

2. I am requesting specific records, evidence, and decision-making material relating to:

– the full testing regime,

– contaminants included and excluded,

– the basis for those exclusions,

– and the data relied upon to assert safety.

A link to publicly available material is only sufficient where:

– it directly answers the request, and

– the Council clearly identifies where within that material the requested information is located.

Your response does neither.

Accordingly, please treat my original correspondence as a formal request under the Official Information Act 1982.

Please provide:

– The full testing schedule applicable to my supply area;

– The most recent laboratory results;

– The list of contaminants not tested for, with reasons;

– The standards or guidelines relied upon;

– Identification of the responsible decision-makers;

– The Council’s policy position regarding remediation where testing is incomplete.

If you intend to rely on publicly available material, please:

– identify the specific documents, and

– point to the exact sections that answer each part of the request.

A generic referral to a website is not sufficient and will be treated as a refusal.

Further, your suggestion of lodging a “Request for Service” is noted but is not relevant to the issues raised. This matter concerns evidence, public health assurance, and Council accountability, not a routine service request.

If the Council cannot provide full assurance that all contaminants of reasonable public-health concern are monitored and addressed, then the proposal for a household filtration remedy remains live and requires a substantive response.

Please confirm:

– whether the Council accepts or refuses the proposed remedy;

– the reasons for that position;

– and the statutory basis relied upon.

If this request is refused in whole or in part, please provide:

– the specific grounds under the Official Information Act relied upon; and

– details of the review pathway, including referral to the Office of the Ombudsman.

Please confirm receipt and provide a timeframe for response.

Yours faithfully,

Tracy

Hi Tracy,

The Official Information Team is not able to confirm whether QLDC accepts or refuses a proposed remedy. This type of determination falls outside the scope of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). Rather, requests of this nature are referred to the relevant operational team for technical assessment and consideration.

Ref: LG26-0135 – TRACY – Household Water Filtration 5/05/2026, 2:09 pm

A LGOIMA request has been lodged to respond to the questions highlighted, and these will be addressed in accordance with the statutory process. QLDC will provide a decision as soon as reasonably practicable, and no later than 3 June 2026, unless otherwise advised.

In the meantime, could you please clarify what you mean by your “supply area”? Further detail will assist in ensuring your query is directed appropriately.

Kind regards,

Larissa

Re: LG26-0135 – Household Water Filtration. 5/05/2026, 2:49 pm

Larissa,

Thank you for confirming that a request has been logged under Ref: LG26-0135.

1. Clarification – Supply Area

For the purposes of this request, “supply area” means:

– the specific drinking water supply zone servicing the property to which this request relates; and

– the source, treatment plant, and distribution network associated with that supply.

If required, please apply this request to the relevant registered property connected to this correspondence. If further specificity is necessary, please advise what information is required to identify the supply zone.

2. Scope of Request – Information and Decision-Making

I acknowledge your position that the Official Information Team does not determine whether a proposed remedy is accepted.

However, the request does include information that informs that decision, and therefore remains within scope of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

For clarity, I am requesting:

– any policies, frameworks, or criteria used by the Council to determine whether remedial measures (including point-of-use treatment or filtration) are required or funded;

– any precedents, assessments, or internal guidance relating to situations where water safety assurance is incomplete or evolving;

– identification of the operational team or decision-maker responsible for considering such remedies.

This is not a request for the Official Information Team to make a decision, but for the information and decision framework that governs that outcome.

3. Link Between Evidence and Remedy

The proposal for a household filtration remedy is directly contingent on the outcome of the information requested.

If the Council’s testing regime:

– does not include contaminants of reasonable public-health concern; or

– cannot provide evidence excluding such risks,

then the basis for declining a remedy becomes a matter of evidence and policy, not discretion alone.

4. Process Integrity

To avoid fragmentation of the issue:

– please confirm that the operational team assessing the proposal will have access to, and consider, the information disclosed under this LGOIMA request;

– and that any response regarding the proposed remedy will be reasoned and evidence-based, not administrative in nature.

5. Timeframe

I note the statutory timeframe provided and will await the Council’s response.

If any part of the request is likely to be refused, please identify the relevant grounds under LGOIMA in advance where possible.

Please confirm receipt of this clarification and that the request will proceed on this basis.

Yours faithfully,

Tracy

THEY DONT LIKE THIS, they have admitted to not testing for a lot of things! 5/05/2026, 3:06 pm

Hi Tracy,

Your email states:

“For the purposes of this request, “supply area” means:

– the specific drinking water supply zone servicing the property to which this request relates; and

– the source, treatment plant, and distribution network associated with that supply.

If required, please apply this request to the relevant registered property connected to this correspondence.”

Could you please clarify what is the “relevant registered property connected to this correspondence”? What property does this request relate?

Kind regards,

Larissa

Re: LG26-0135 – Household Water Filtration 5/05/2026, 4:07 pm

Larissa,

I refer to your repeated request for identification of a “relevant registered property.”

That line of enquiry is unnecessary and does not affect your ability to respond.

For the avoidance of doubt:

This request is directed to the drinking water supply scheme(s) administered by Queenstown Lakes District Council;

It concerns system-level testing, monitoring, and decision-making;

The information sought is held at scheme/network level, not tied to an individual property.

There is therefore no requirement to identify a specific property in order to answer this request.

Requirement to Proceed

You are now required to process this request on the basis that it applies to:

the relevant public drinking water supply scheme(s) servicing residential users within your district; and

the associated sources, treatment plants, distribution networks, and testing frameworks.

If internal routing requires a scheme identifier, that is a matter for the Council to determine from its own records.

Process Position

Repeated requests for property identification, in circumstances where the request is already clear, constitute unnecessary delay.

If you maintain that further clarification is required, please:

identify the specific part of the request you say cannot be understood; and

state the statutory basis under LGOIMA for refusing to proceed without that information.

Otherwise, you are expected to proceed without further delay.

Notice

If the request is not progressed on this clarified basis, or if further irrelevant clarification is sought, that conduct will be relied upon as evidence of failure to properly assist and unreasonable delay under LGOIMA.

Please confirm that the request is now being processed and referred to the appropriate operational team.

Yours faithfully,
Tracy