11327 (2026). Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan to the Minister of Education

11327 (2026). Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan to the Minister of Education: How many schools, if any, had unsafe/contaminated drinking water supply from 1 January 2025 - 31 December 2025?

Hon Erica Stanford: I am advised by the Ministry of Education (the Ministry) that the Water Services Authority - Taumata Arowai advised them of 66 of the 460 self-supplied schools that received an unsafe drinking water notification in 2025. If test result returns non-compliant, the laboratory alerts Taumata Arowai and the school of the result. The Ministry and the school receive the unsafe drinking water notification via email from Taumata Arowai. All parties advise the school that the supply of drinking water must be suspended until safe water quality can be confirmed and resumed. The Ministry issues standard incident response guidance to the school. The school is required to: • organise an alternate supply of drinking water • lodge a risk notification in the authority’s portal • investigate the source of issue/contamination • conduct or schedule remedial works • confirm safe water quality before reinstating normal supply The Ministry works with schools to conduct the correct remedial approach. Schools with persistent issues are included in the next available tranche the Safe Drinking Water for Schools National Programme to deliver condition assessment and upgrades