New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

The latest concern stems from a soon-to-be released ESR report showing silt in the river may now be contaminated with oocycts (eggs) from giardia, Dr Humphrey said.

"This can cause explosive bloody diarrhoea for months. These tiny eggs can live for years in silt and can be released into the water when the silt is stirred up,'' he says.

"Giardia can also survive freezing, so once thawed giardia within the whitebait can contaminate other foods.''

Dr Humphrey said that even before the earthquake Christchurch's waterways rarely met recreational water standards because they were contaminated with duck and dog faeces.