Locals are furious a consent granted six years ago to bottle water in Upper Hutt went unnoticed because the Wellington Regional Council refused to publicly notify it.
The consent allows up to 180-million litres of water to be drawn from the ground each year for the purposes of water bottling.
The Regional Council decided not to put the decision out for public consultation, despite being asked to do so by local iwi.
And now with renewed activity at the site, locals have figured out - and are gutted - to find their water is headed overseas.
RNZ's Emma Hatton reports.
