A five-year project to develop genetic tools to deliver safer drinking water has been awarded funding as part of New Zealand’s largest contestable science fund. An interdisciplinary project team from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), Te Kura Taka Pini, and Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury were awarded $8.7 million from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) 2024 Endeavour Fund round.
The project is an extension of a Te Niwha-funded project looking at the burden of acute gastrointestinal disease from contaminated drinking water. This project established an education and action programme for water champions on marae and the metagenomic testing of drinking water from 19 marae around the South Island.
Tens of thousands of New Zealanders become sick from microbial contamination of drinking-water every year. Recent examples of drinking-water outbreaks in Queenstown and Havelock North underscore the vulnerability of our water supplies and highlight the high costs and consequences. The challenge of managing national drinking-water quality will only increase in the face of accelerating climate change, resource constraints and land-use changes.
“Metagenomics offers a powerful DNA sequencing approach that can identify all the microbes in a water sample, while Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction testing, known as qPCR, focuses on targeted identification and quantification of specific microorganisms of concern,” says Brent Gilpin, ESR Principal Investigator for the project.
“Metagenomics and qPCR can help prevent drinking-water outbreaks, assist with identifying the cause of outbreaks when they do occur, and guide better management of our water infrastructure. While powerful, this technology requires new science to unlock its full potential and avoid misinterpretations and misidentification of pathogens.”
ESR’s research team will undertake the science needed for the practical implementation of the tools by advancing their effectiveness in monitoring the microbial health risks of drinking-water. This includes undertaking case studies to validate better characterisation of pathogens and contamination in source waters, evaluate the efficacy of drinking-water treatment, and understand the microbial communities within drinking-water.
Associate Professor Tim Chambers from the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre at the University of Canterbury says, “It’s great to have the opportunity to integrate this new technology into our recently established drinking water testing programme across marae in Ngāi Tahu takiwā in partnership with Te Kura Taka Pini which has been funded by the Te Niwha infectious disease platform.”
This research programme will work alongside Taumata Arowai, local councils, consultants, iwi and international collaborators to establish routine microbial protocols incorporating molecular biology tools that improve drinking-water safety while safeguarding the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders.
ESR is a co-host of the national Te Niwha infectious disease research platform that brings scientists from a range of organisations together with communities to ensure Aotearoa New Zealand is best prepared for infectious diseases threats.