BOIL WATER ALERT

Mountain River (Tasmania) – E.coli

August 6 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 1 MPN100/mL

August 7 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 4.1 MPN100/mL

August 26 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 12.2 MPN100/mL

September 3 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 2 MPN100/mL

September 9 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 3.1 MPN100/mL

September 16 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 4.1 MPN100/mL

September 23 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 5.1 MPN100/mL

September 30 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 16.1 MPN100/mL

October 7 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 2 MPN100/mL

October 28 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 1 MPN100/mL

November 4 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 1 MPN100/mL

November 11 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 1.5 MPN100/mL

November 18 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 1 MPN100/mL

December 2 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 1 MPN100/mL

December 22 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 1 MPN100/mL

December 30 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 6.3 MPN100/mL

January 6 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 1 MPN100/mL

January 13 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 4.1 MPN100/mL

January 20 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 12.6 MPN100/mL

January 27 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 3 MPN100/mL

February 3 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 7.5 MPN100/mL

February 10 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 4.1 MPN100/mL

February 17 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 2.1 MPN100/mL

February 23 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 2 MPN100/mL

March 2 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 1 MPN100/mL

March 9 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 6.3 MPN100/mL

March 16 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 1 MPN100/mL

March 23 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 3.1 MPN100/mL

April 6 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 3 MPN100/mL

April 13 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 2 MPN100/mL

April 20 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 2.1 MPN100/mL

May 4 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 3.1 MPN100/mL

May 11 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 1 MPN100/mL

May 18 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 6.3 MPN100/mL

May 25 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – 1 MPN100/mL

2016/17: Mountain River (Tasmania) 7 E.coli exceedences. Poor microbiological performance can be attributed to a lack of barriers and the susceptibility to changes in quality from the Stevenson Creek. The risk to public health is mitigated through the communication of the Permanent BWA to customers.

5/7/17: Mountain River (Tasmania) E.coli of 1 MPN/100mL in monthly compliance sample

9/8/17: Mountain River (Tasmania) E.coli of 9.8 MPN/100mL in monthly compliance sample

6/9/17: Mountain River (Tasmania) E.coli of 6.9 MPN/100mL in monthly compliance sample

Escherichia coli should not be detected in any 100 mL sample of drinking water. If detected
in drinking water, immediate action should be taken including investigation of potential
sources of faecal contamination.

“Coliforms are Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped bacteria that are capable of aerobic and facultative anaerobic growth in the presence of bile salts or other surface active agents with similar growth-inhibiting properties. They are found in large numbers in the faeces of humans and other warm-blooded animals, but many species also occur in the environment.

Thermotolerant coliforms are a sub-group of coliforms that are able to grow at 44.5 ± 0.2°C. E. coli is the most common thermotolerant coliform present in faeces and is regarded as the most specific indicator of recent faecal contamination because generally it is not capable of growth in the environment. In contrast, some other thermotolerant coliforms (including strains of Klebsiella, Citrobacter and Enterobacter) are able to grow in the environment and their presence is not necessarily related to faecal contamination. While tests for thermotolerant coliforms can be simpler than for E. coli, E. coli is considered a superior indicator for detecting faecal contamination…” ADWG 2011

Mountain River –  (Tasmania) – Colour

August 7 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Colour Apparent 52 PCU

February 23 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Colour Apparent 32 PCU

2016/17: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Colour 22 HU (max), 19 HU (mean)

Based on aesthetic considerations, true colour in drinking water should not exceed 15 HU.

“… Colour is generally related to organic content, and while colour derived from natural sources such as humic and fulvic acids is not a health consideration, chlorination of such water can produce a variety of chlorinated organic compounds as by-products (see Section 6.3.2 on disinfection by-products). If the colour is high at the time of disinfection, then the water should be checked for disinfection by-products. It should be noted, however, that low colour at the time of disinfection does not necessarily mean that the concentration of disinfection by-products will be low…” ADWG 2011

Mountain River – Tasmania – Turbidity

September 23 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 10.4 NTU

September 30 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 123 NTU

October 7 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 9.05 NTU

November 11 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 21.8 NTU

November 18 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 14.6 NTU

November 25 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 5.88 NTU

December 2 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 12.5 NTU

December 9 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 6.74 NTU

December 22 2015: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 10.3 NTU

January 20 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 15.5 NTU

February 3 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 23.5 NTU

February 10 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 6.38 NTU

February 17 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 6.66 NTU

March 9 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 13.5 NTU

March 30 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 5.85 NTU

April 13 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 6.95 NTU

April 28 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 5.95 NTU

2016/17: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 20.9 NTU (max), 6.59 NTU (mean)

2017/18: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Turbidity 7.71 NTU (max), 6.3 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.

Mountain River – Tasmania – Temperature

February 10 2016: Mountain River (Tasmania) – Temperature 20.2C

GUIDELINE

“No guideline is set due to the impracticality of controlling water temperature.
Drinking water temperatures above 20°C may result in an increase in the number of
complaints.

Temperature is primarily an aesthetic criterion for drinking water. Generally, cool water is more palatable than warm or cold water. In general, consumers will react to a change in water temperature. Complaints are most frequent when the temperature suddenly increases.

The turbidity and colour of filtered water may be indirectly affected by temperature, as low water temperatures tend to decrease the efficiency of water treatment processes by, for instance, affecting floc formation rates and sedimentation efficiency.

Chemical reaction rates increase with temperature, and this can lead to greater corrosion of pipes and fittings in closed systems. Scale formation in hard waters will also be greater at higher temperatures…

Water temperatures in major Australian reticulated supplies range from 10°C to 30°C. In some long, above-ground pipelines, water temperatures up to 45°C may be experienced…

The effectiveness of chlorine as a disinfectant is influenced by the temperature of the water being dosed. Generally higher temperatures result in more effective disinfection at a particular chlorine dose, but this may be counterbalanced by a more rapid loss of chlorine to the atmosphere (AWWA 1990).