Waikato DHB loses water-testing accreditation

The Waikato District Health board is to continue checking Waikato's drinking water, even though it has lost its official accreditation to do the testing. The country's accreditation agency IANZ says the DHB is chronically short-staffed with only one full-time water assessor and one part-timer to do the job of five people. IANZ chief executive Llewellyn Richards told RNZ's Tom Furley there was no option but to suspend accreditation. He says the DHB's testing labs do remain accredited, and the Ministry of Health says DHB staff will continue doing tests until the situation is resolved.