Kumara petitions test of town water supply

Press, 13 January 1987, Page 3

Kumara petitions test of town water supply

, Greymouth reporter A Dillmanstown goldminer, Mr JOhn Acker, has collected the signatures of 175 adults — of Kumara’s residents — to a petition protesting the spraying of weedkiller near the town’s water supply a week ago. Mr Acker said that he intended to see a weekly monitoring of the water supply for the next two years. The Forest Service maintains that the water supply is not endangered by the spraying of paraquat and diquat. The Westland County Council has sent a sample of the water to the D.S.I.R. at Gracefield, Wellington, and the analysis is awaited.

Mr Acker said yesterday that he thought the rain which fell on Sunday might have washed more chemicals into the supply, necessitating further checks.

However, the district ranger of the Forest Service in charge of spraying, Mr Dave Hilliard, said that Mr Acker was wrong in his contention that the terraces sprayed , were drained by creeks leading into the catchment area of the water supply. The supply was pumped from a spring beside the Taramakau River into holding tanks behind the Kumara township. This was about I.skm from the area sprayed, he said. A week ago, Mr Hilliard

told “The Press” that diquat' which had been used in the terraces was totally dissipated within two hours .by the plant material as long as there was no rain, and none had fallen.