The ITM retail store burned to the ground on 11 January. Photo: Supplied / Kevin Patterson
Solvents have been detected in the water supplies of three Tākaka properties after a fire destroyed a building supplies store.
Tasman District Council has been monitoring bore water since the fire on 11 January, in which the ITM retail store burned to the ground and nearly took out the neighbouring PGG Wrightson Farm Supply Store.
Around 25 property owners in Motupipi were told to consume bottled water as a precautionary approach after the fire, until contamination could be ruled out.
Samples taken on 22 January found three sites, one in Factory Road and two in Motupipi Street, were found to have levels of dichloromethane higher than the drinking water standard.
Also known as methylene chloride, it is a solvent widely used in chemical research, manufacturing, and cleaning agents.
The positive tests have not yet been linked to firefighting run-off, and council is working with the laboratory, public health experts and environmental scientists to locate the source, with ongoing testing of the water in the area.
The council has been testing the water for BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes), heavy metals, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, arsenic, boron, cadmium, copper, lead, manganese and mercury. Earlier tests had not found any contamination, but residents in the affected area were told not to drink tap water as a precaution, until further testing was complete.
The council said it was taking the necessary precautions to ensure that the health of the community was not put in jeopardy.
Residents in Motupipi Street, Factory Road and the first section of Abel Tasman Drive, to Scotts Corner, are asked to refrain from drinking tap water until further notice.
