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Warkworth will soon have its own independent water-testing laboratory.Owner of Mahurangi Water Testing, Thomas Galloway, says the laboratory will be equipped to test domestic, commercial and recreational water, and he is the process of gaining IANZ accreditation.
“Accreditation is an important step because it will give customers confidence that I am using best practice,” he says.
Accreditation is assessed independently in five key areas:
- Competence and experience of staff
- Integrity and traceability of equipment and materials
- Technical validity of methods
- Validity and suitability of results
- Compliance with appropriate management systems including providing a service that is professional, reliable and efficient.
Thomas plans to focus on commercial water testing for businesses not on a reticulated Council system. This includes any enterprise that requires health certification such as schools, cafes and restaurants, sports centres and child care centres.
He says the tests will be mainly for coliform and E.coli, which are indicators of certain bacteria that can be harmful for human health.
Thomas has been water testing since graduating from AUT with an Environmental Science degree.
He has worked for Brisbane City Council on catchment testing, monitoring stream health for algae, salinity, phosphates, flow and fish species, and is also a trained conservation ranger.
“I love my job,” he says. “I get to travel all over the place, meet people and learn about what’s happening.”
Thomas says one of the most important ways to keep water clean is to enure the source is well cared for and maintained.
“Over time, equipment can get clogged and dirty so it’s important that people understand how to manage this.”
When not testing water, Thomas can be found splashing around in it. He learned to scuba dive at Leigh when he was 12 and has been a keen diver ever since. He is also a trained scientific diver.
