The recent lead contamination scare in east Otago has raised the question, how safe are New Zealanders with their drinking water? The technical manager at industry group Water NZ says he would not drink what comes out of the tap in some areas of the country. Waikouaiti and Karitane are currently being offered free blood tests after Dunedin City Council eventually revealed there had been serious but intermittent spikes in lead levels in their drinking water in late 2020. One result was 40 times the acceptable level. The council has no idea what has caused the contamination, but it is now replacing about 4km of old cast iron pipes in the network that have lead joins. Water NZ is the industry body for the Three Waters sector - drinking water, wastewater and stormwater - with more than 2,300 members including water technicians, researchers and consultants. The group's technical manager Noel Roberts told Checkpoint lead can exist in older pipes that are still used in New Zealand.