Christchurch residents in several eastern suburbs have been told to boil all drinking water until further notice after an emergency alert was issued this afternoon.

An Emergency Alert was sent to mobile phones at 12.55pm, warning of a public health risk affecting the Rawhiti water supply zone, including New Brighton, Burwood, Wainoni, Aranui and Southshore.

The alert said, “PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT: All people in the Rawhiti water supply zone, New Brighton, Burwood, Wainoni, Aranui, and Southshore are advised to BOIL ALL DRINKING WATER until further notice.”

It instructed residents to boil water used for drinking, food preparation and hygiene.

“Boil all water for drinking, making up formula, juices and ice, washing fruits and vegetables, other cooking needs, and brushing teeth. All water (including filtered) needs to be continuously boiled for at least 1 minute.”

The alert warned “‘Instant’ boil water systems do not boil water sufficiently.”

A council spokesperson told chrislynchmedia.com testing in the area showed the presence of bacteria in drinking water which means it is unsafe to drink.

All water used for drinking, food preparation, utensil washing, brushing teeth or making ice should be boiled until further notice.

Staff and contractors are in the area undertaking further testing and investigations to understand the cause of the contamination. Until we have further information the boil water notice will remain in place.

Bringing water to the boil is sufficient to kill bugs. If you can’t boil your water then bottled water is the only other option.

The boil water notice will be in place until further notice.