Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule has apologised to the people of Havelock North over contaminated water which has made more than 5000 ill.
Mr Yule made the comments at a public meeting held last night over the largest outbreak of waterborne disease to date in New Zealand.
About 5200 people have been ill, or more than a third of the Hastings suburb's population. The district council may lift its boil water notice for Havelock North by tomorrow.
The first of two public meetings on the contamination of the village's water supply saw not quite a full house at the Riverbend Bible Church, where concerned Havelock North residents, representatives of the region's councils, Tukituki MP Craig Foss and Labour candidate Anna Lorck, gathered.
Mr Yule opened the meeting with the apology and assured the audience of the council's three priorities: to keep people safe, to find out what happened "to ensure this never happens again", and to seek to support affected businesses.
DHB chief executive Kevin Snee explained their actions after the presence of E.Coli in the water supply was first indicated, and their ongoing concerns.
Although there were secondary infections possible from the disease, including cryptosporidium and giardia, Dr Snee said, "from a health perspective, we think we're through the worst of it now".
The regional council's Stephen Swabey updated the audience on their investigation. Focusing on the area around the Brookvale bores, the council had undertaken three rounds of sampling from August 16 to 26. He reiterated that the source of the contamination was unlikely to have come from the Tukituki River.
The crowd also received an update on the Hastings District Council's activities from chief executive Ross McLeod, who added they were aiming to lift the boil water notice by tomorrow, and were developing infrastructure plans for the summer.
Looking forward, he said issues raised from the contamination, "brings us to a wider conversation the council will need to have with the community", around chlorination.
Full-time chlorination would have prevented the outbreak.
The 12-person panel then fielded questions from the floor. As well as questions around the physical nature of the bores, the Government inquiry, and compensation for businesses, a number of residents raised concerns around the communication from lead agencies.
Some questions received resounding applause, including mentions of the bottling plants in Hawke's Bay, and the export of water.
Labour environment spokesman David Parker blasted those fronting the meeting, saying this was not his first visit to Hawke's Bay regarding water issues.
"You've got some serious problems with your rivers around here," he said.
Hastings District Council candidate Bayden Barber invited residents and those on the panel to join a "walk for water" starting at 8am on Saturday from Havelock North to Hastings.
- Hawkes Bay Today
