The Prime Minister has defended New Zealand's 100 percent pure image, saying the impact of the Hawke's Bay water crisis isn't likely to damage our international reputation.
But leading water scientist Mike Joy says this contamination is a timely reminder that as New Zealanders we need to take a good hard look at ourselves and how we treat our waterways.
"As a country we've completely failed to look after our waters, whether they're ground waters, lakes, rivers and estuaries. We've just trashed them in such a short time; we have to face up to that reality."
He says further expansion of the dairy industry could see more gastro outbreaks.
The discussion around the water crisis in Havelock North is expected to be exacerbated by the controversial Ruataniwha dam plans.
Mr Joy says the dam will lead to more water contamination.
"If you put a dam in and it costs a lot of money, the farmers to pay for that have to intensify what they're doing so it just magnifies all of these problems."
He says Fonterra plans to boost its milk production by a third - and that intensification could also lead to more problems like this.
Also, he says, water bottling companies selling New Zealand's purest water can afford to search for pristine water - while councils end up with shallow bores because they're cheaper.
"Twenty metres down is pretty much connected to what's happening on the land, you need to go much deeper to get the safe stuff, because we're polluting it from the top down" Mr Joy says.
On Monday the Government announced its own inquiry into Havelock North's contaminated water.
"The terms of reference are very wide and will include any lessons and improvements that can be made in the management of the water supply network in Havelock North and, more broadly, across New Zealand," Attorney-General Chris Finlayson said.
"It is important that New Zealanders have confidence in the quality of our drinking water, and the independent inquiry will ensure we have a clear understanding of what happened," Mr Finlayson said.
Newshub.
