Boil water notice

Watercare has issued a boil water notice this evening (6 April 2026) for Hillsborough, Mt Roskill, Royal Oak and Three Kings. Not all streets are affected. Please check the maps below to see if your property is included.

What happened?

A routine water sample received today (6 April 2026) showed an E coli result.  All other results from this sample were within normal ranges. As a precaution, a boil water notice has been put in place while we carry out further testing. This is a standard public health measure. We will provide a further update by midday tomorrow (7 April 2026).

We understand that this notice will have an impact on households and businesses across the area but it’s important that we act carefully in the interest of public health. There is no evidence that there is a wider issue in the region and this is a precautionary measure. Outside of the area in the map water is safe to drink.

What do people in the affected area need to do?

Residents should use boiled tap water or storebought bottled water for drinking, cleaning teeth, making ice, washing dishes, and preparing food until further notice.

Boiling water in an electric kettle is sufficient to kill bacteria and other organisms. The water only needs to be boiled once, then it can be cooled before use.

What are we doing about it?

Watercare has set up two tankers in the area for the public to access if they are unable to boil water. There is a third that has been set up specifically to support a retirement village.

The locations of the tankers are:

• 113 Duke Street, Big King Reserve

• Hillsborough Park Carpark, Carlton Street

Note: please bring your own bottle or container to collect water in if you can.

These locations will be kept open overnight and will be available until the issue is resolved.