Tullah (Tasmania) – Cadmium
June 2011: Tullah (Tasmania) 0.00293mg/L.
Cadmium: ADWG Guideline. 0.002mg/L. The primary route of exposure of cadmium is via contaminated water or food. Fertiliser can be a source of excessive cadmium as can rainwater tanks. It has been linked to cancer, lung disorders, kidney disease and autoimmune disease.
Tullah (Tasmania) – Dichloroacetic Acid, Trichloroacetic Acid
August 11 2015 Tullah (Tasmania) Bluff St – Dichoroacetic Acid 110ug/L
August 11 2015 Tullah (Tasmania) Bluff St – Trichoroacetic Acid 120ug/L
September 22 2015 Tullah (Tasmania) Bluff St – Trichoroacetic Acid 110ug/L
October 6 2015 Tullah (Tasmania) Bluff St – Trichoroacetic Acid 100ug/L
January 28 2016 Tullah (Tasmania) Bluff St – Trichoroacetic Acid 100ug/L
Australian Guideline Level: Dichloroacetic Acid 0.100mg/L, Trichloroacetic Acid 0.100mg/L
“Chloroacetic acids are produced in drinking water as by-products of the reaction between chlorine and naturally occurring humic and fulvic acids. Concentrations reported overseas range up to 0.16mg/L and are typically about half the chloroform concentration. The chloroacetic acids are used commercially as reagents or intermediates in the preparation of a wide variety of chemicals. Monochloroacetic acid can be used as a pre-emergent herbicide, dichloroacetic acid as an ingredient in some pharmaceutical products, and trichloroacetic acid as a herbicide, soil sterilant and antiseptic.” Australian Drinking Water Guidelines – National Health and Medical Research Council
Tullah (Tasmania) – Aluminium
November 6 2013: Tullah (Tasmania) – Aluminium 1.25 mg/L (Highest level only) Average level for 2013-14 0.775.4mg/L
July 7 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium 0.564 mg/L
July 7 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium Acid Soluble 0.550 mg/L
August 6 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Clear Water Outlet – Aluminium 1.24 mg/L
August 6 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) Bluff St – Aluminium 1.24 mg/L
August 6 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) Clear Water Outlet – Aluminium (Dissolved) 0.52 mg/L
August 6 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) Bluff St – Aluminium (Dissolved) 0.621 mg/L
August 11 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium 1 mg/L
August 11 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium Acid Soluble 0.945 mg/L
September 22 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium 1.04 mg/L
September 22 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium Acid Soluble 0.975 mg/L
October 6 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium 1.01 mg/L
October 6 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium Acid Soluble 0.967 mg/L
November 3 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium 0.926 mg/L
November 3 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) Bluff St – Aluminium 1.02 mg/L
November 3 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) Bluff St – Aluminium (Dissolved) 0.841 mg/L
November 3 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium Acid Soluble 0.867 mg/L
December 1 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium 0.84 mg/L
December 1 2015: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium Acid Soluble 0.802 mg/L
January 4 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Clear Water Outlet – Aluminium 1.03 mg/L
January 4 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) Bluff St – Aluminium 0.997 mg/L
January 4 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Clear Water Outlet – Aluminium (Dissolved) 0.902 mg/L
January 4 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) Bluff St – Aluminium (Dissolved) 0.840 mg/L
January 28 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium 0.703 mg/L
January 28 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium Acid Soluble 0.719 mg/L
February 9 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium 0.723 mg/L
February 9 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium Acid Soluble 0.592 mg/L
March 1 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium 0.623 mg/L
March 1 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium Acid Soluble 0.607 mg/L
April 5 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium 0.942 mg/L
April 5 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Clear Water Outlet – Aluminium 0.781 mg/L
April 5 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) Bluff St – Aluminium 0.781 mg/L
April 5 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium Acid Soluble 0.522 mg/L
May 3 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Clear Water Outlet – Aluminium 0.573 mg/L
May 3 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium Acid Soluble 0.542 mg/L
June 7 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Clear Water Outlet – Aluminium 0.666 mg/L
June 7 2016: Tullah (Tasmania) WTP Water Storage – Aluminium Acid Soluble 0.640 mg/L
19/10/20: Tullah (Tasmania) Aluminium 0.609mg/L
According to the ADWG, no health guideline has been adopted for Aluminium, but that the issue is still open to review. Aluminium can come from natural geological sources or from the use of aluminium salts as coagulants in water treatment plants. According to the ADWG “A well-operated water filtration plant (even using aluminium as a flocculant) can achieve aluminium concentrations in the finished water of less than 0.1 mg/L.
The most common form of aluminium in water treatment plants is Aluminium Sulfate (Alum). Alum can be supplied as a bulk liquid or in granular form. It is used at water treatment plants as a coagulant to remove turbidity, microorganisms, organic matter and inorganic chemicals. If water is particularly dirty an Alum dose of as high as 500mg/L could occur. There is also concern that other metals may also exist in refined alum.
While the ADWG mentions that there is considerable evidence that Aluminium is neurotoxic and can pass the gut barrier to accumulate in the blood, leading to a condition called encephalopathy (dialysis dementia) and that Aluminium has been associated with Parkinsonism dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the NHMRC, whilst also acknowledging studies which have linked Aluminium with Alzheimer disease, has not granted Aluminium a NOEL (No Observable Effect Level) due to insufficient and contradictory data. Without a NOEL, a health guideline cannot be established. The NHMRC has also stated that if new information comes to hand, a health guideline may be established in the future.
In communication with Aluminium expert Dr Chris Exley (Professor in Bioinorganic Chemistry
The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Staffordshire UK) in March 2013 regarding high levels of Aluminium detected in the South Western Victorian town of Hamilton
“It is my opinion that any value above 0.5 mg/L is totally unacceptable and a potential health risk. Where such values are maintained over days, weeks or even months, as indeed is indicated by the data you sent to me, these represent a significant health risk to all consumers. While consumers may not experience any short term health effects the result of longer term exposure to elevated levels of aluminium in potable waters may be a significant increase in the body burden of aluminium in these individuals. This artificially increased body burden will not return to ‘normal’ levels when the Al content of the potable water returns to normal but will act as a new platform level from which the Al body burden will continue to increase with age.
Tullah (Tasmania) – Turbidity
2017/18: Tullah (Tasmania) – Turbidity 10.24 NTU (Max), 0.73 NTU (mean)
Chlorine-resistant pathogen reduction: Where filtration alone is used as the water treatment
process to address identified risks from Cryptosporidium and Giardia, it is essential
that filtration is optimised and consequently the target for the turbidity of water leaving
individual filters should be less than 0.2 NTU, and should not exceed 0.5 NTU at any time
Disinfection: A turbidity of less than 1 NTU is desirable at the time of disinfection with
chlorine unless a higher value can be validated in a specific context.
Aesthetic: Based on aesthetic considerations, the turbidity should not exceed 5 NTU at the
consumer’s tap