A Whangārei mother is sounding the alarm after her toddler became “violently ill” after playing in a popular water fountain contaminated with E. coli. Whangārei District Council apologised, saying they took immediate action to ensure the problem never happens again.
Paula Maunder’s 18-month-old son spent less than an hour on November 8 playing in the jets of Pūtahi Park’s interactive water feature in the Town Basin. The outgoing toddler didn’t shy away when the water splashed his face. Maunder believed he ended up drinking quite a bit of the contaminated water.
She said the following day he became “violently ill”..
