New Zealanders take fresh drinking water for granted - we assume we'll just turn on the tap and it will be fine.
But in reality 70 percent of people living in small towns of up to 500 people get water which doesn't meet drinking water standards.
And in bigger towns of up to 5000 people, nearly half of the population drink water that doesn't meet standard.
Water New Zealand chief executive John Pfahlert spoke to The AM Show about it.
Watch the video for the full The AM Show interview.
