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. This funds a five-year project to develop genetic tools to deliver safer drinking water.
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. It is also assessing the condition of pipes carrying drinking water and, for the first time in several decades, calculating the risk of contaminated drinking water to human health.
 ABOVE: CONNOR REDMILE AND DR TIM CHAMBERSTOP PHOTO: DR BRENT GILPIN IS A KEY PLAYER IN THE NEWLY FUNDED MBIE RESEARCH |
LINKS Read about the latest MBIE-funded research on safe drinking water Read about the ongoing Te Niwha research ‘Burden of waterborne disease’ project |
