Queenstown's mayor is raising concerns over the country's water supply crackdown. 

Water regulator Taumata Arowai has sent a letter to 27 councils lacking in a sufficient protozoa barrier, informing them they have till mid next year to get a plan in place. 

Queenstown Mayor Glyn Lewers told Kate Hawkesby that when it comes to enforcement, the regulator has teeth, with fines and jail time both being a possibility.  

He believes he's under-mining the industry they're trying to regulate.  

He says rates will likely increase as councils compete for resources, which have largely been sucked out of the country thanks to Queenstown's cryptosporidium infection outbreak. 

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