Preliminary tests from bore samples in the Harbour Road area of Ōhope have so far shown no contamination from a nearby pit latrine discovered on a nearby property.

However, Bay of Plenty Regional Council says it is taking a precautionary approach until further testing is done.

The regional council confirmed last week that unauthorised wastewater discharge from a pit latrine, or long-drop as they are also known, had been discovered on a Harbour Road property, which could potentially be contaminating groundwater.

Regional council staff had notified the 14 registered bore users in the area and were carrying out letter box drops in the potentially affected area as they were concerned there could be other affected bores they were not aware of.

They were continuing to assess the potential risk to groundwater quality.

Baseline water samples were collected from five nearby properties with high-risk bores last week.

These samples were part of a broader groundwater sampling programme in the area that would continue over the next four weeks, to ensure results are accurate over time and to confirm whether contamination remains a risk.

Samples would be tested for standard septic tank indicators including E. coli, enterococci, total coliforms, nitrate, ammoniacal nitrogen, chloride, turbidity and electrical conductivity.

As a precaution, residents with bores in the affected area were advised to continue avoiding the use of bore water for any activities until further notice.

This advice would remain in place until continued water quality sampling results confirmed it was safe to resume use.

We appreciate the community’s cooperation and will provide further updates once more sampling results are available.

The community were encouraged to contact the Pollution Hotline on 0800 884 883 for any public queries.