Oodnadatta residents win battle for safe drinking water
June 11 2020 (Indaily)
After decades of being exposed to potentially fatal bore water, residents in the South Australian outback town of Oodnadatta are finally set to have access to clean drinking water as part of a $41 million State Government pledge.
Water Minister David Speirs announced the cash splash this morning, describing the proposed water upgrades as “life-changing for those that live in our regional communities who have long been crying out for better access to water”.
InDaily reported in December that households in Oodnadatta – a remote town about 1000-kilometres north of Adelaide – were each being charged more than $300 a year to use what SA Water said was non-drinkable and potentially fatal bore water.
SA Water has warned residents since the 1990s that they should never drink it, use it to brush teeth, wash food or get it up their nose as it could contain a parasite that causes the rapid destruction of brain tissue.
The SA Housing Authority has also warned Oodnadatta residents against drinking what it calls “undrinkable” and “unfiltered” rainwater, as the tanks provided at its leased properties are not intended to supply drinking water.
The situation leaves Oodnadatta residents to choose between drinking the questionable bore or rainwater, buying expensive bottled water, or taking containers to a clean water outlet set up in the town’s main street, which the State Government says is mainly for passing tourists and which costs $4 for 20 litres.
The $41 million funding package will be spent on water supply upgrades to connect 350 properties in regional communities including Oodnadatta, which is prioritised as the first to receive treatment infrastructure, as well as Yunta, Maree, Terowie, Marla and Manna Hill.
The upgrades are scheduled to occur over the next four years, with a Government spokesperson telling InDaily residents will be expected to continue to source their own drinking water in the interim period.
The spokesperson said SA Water would now commence work to scope, design, procure and construct the best water infrastructure solutions for each location, with early investigations indicating a reverse osmosis desalination plant might be best suited in Oodnadatta.
A further $7.9 million in State Government funding will be spent on water asset maintenance and replacements in Aboriginal communities across the state.
“We went to the election promising better services for South Australians and our investment will see more people across the state have access to a secure supply of drinking water,” Speirs said.
Oodnadatta’s Dunjiba Community Council chair Maria Stewart said the funding announcement was “a long time coming”.
“We did it,” she said this morning.
“I really fought for Ooodnadatta and I think towns like Yunta and Marla have the same situation with their drinking water.
“I’m glad that we’ve made them listen and I’m glad we have done it because it’s not just Oodnadatta that has no drinking water, we’ve advocated on behalf of other communities too.”
Aboriginal Health Council of SA CEO Shane Mohor said the funding meant there was a future for people in regional communities who currently do not have access to safe drinking water.
He said the water upgrades would have multiple knock-on benefits, including allowing people to live on their country and to grow their own food and business in the community.
“Our communities have been crying out for decades for safe, clean water,” he said.
“Water hasn’t been carted to Oodnadatta in over five years, at the same time as sustained drought has meant that rainwater tanks are becoming dangerously low.
“Our people are in a situation where one authority is telling them not to drink the bore water because it isn’t safe, and to drink rain water instead, whilst another is saying not to drink the rain water because it isn’t safe, and to drink the bore water instead.
“We warmly welcome the Minister’s announcement and applaud the Government for making this announcement.”
But Mohor expressed concern about a “lack of detail of any transitional measures” to ensure the Oodnadatta community had access to safe drinking water while the infrastructure works progressed.
“We understand that putting in the infrastructure to offer our people long term access to clean, safe water is something that will, of course, take time.
“What we now need from the Government is a plan to offer people access to safe water in the years it will take for these projects to be completed.
“We are calling on the Minister to commit to providing a stop-gap solution to make sure no one else in Oodnadatta gets sick, or fears for their children’s safety because of what comes out of their taps and from their water tanks.”
The funding announcement comes as Essential Services Commission of SA (ESCOSA) released its final determination on SA Water’s 2020-24 regulatory plan.
The plan prioritised Oodnadatta as the first of 19 South Australian communities without clean drinking water to receive upgraded treatment infrastructure.
But ECOSA rejected the proposal – estimated to have cost up to $200 million – as a “partial solution that provides limited incremental benefits to a small number of customers at a very high cost” in its draft determination handed down in March.
Speirs also announced today that the State Government would spend $155 million over four years to upgrade and maintain South Australia’s reticulated water mains network.
Poor Oodnadatta water quality a drain on taxpayers
May 22 2020 (Indaily)
South Australian taxpayers have been left to foot a “huge” bill to fix corroded infrastructure in Oodnadatta, while some of the town’s elderly Aboriginal residents continue to drink the potential fatal bore water supplied to houses, the outback community’s council claims.
Oodnadatta’s Dunjiba Community Council chair Maria Stewart has written to the Essential Services Commission of SA to claim the quality of her town’s mains water has caused “regular replacement costs” to fix corroded pipes, taps, air-conditioning units and water heaters at the town’s 47 public housing properties.
She described the cost as a “huge burden” on taxpayers, businesses and government departments including the SA Housing Authority, which is responsible for maintaining public housing infrastructure.
According to water testing data obtained by InDaily through a freedom of information request last year, Oodnadatta’s non-drinking bore water has, over the past decade, recorded high chloride, sodium, sulphate and total dissolved solid levels.
The hard water has corroded the metal on taps, pipes and air-conditioning units, leaving a white, salt-like residue.
SA Water has warned Oodnadatta residents since the 1990s not to drink the bore water it supplies to houses due to the chemical make-up and concerns that the water has the potential to contain the parasite naegleria fowleri which, when inhaled, causes a rare but almost always fatal brain infection.
The SA Housing Authority has also warned Oodnadatta residents against drinking what it calls “undrinkable” and “unfiltered” rainwater, as the tanks provided at its leased properties are not intended to supply drinking water.
The situation has left residents in the town to choose between drinking the unsafe, non-potable bore or rainwater, or buy bottled water or filtered water from a reverse osmosis plant in the town, which many residents claim is unaffordable.
In her submission to ESCOSA, published this month, Stewart wrote the town’s water situation had remained unchanged “for many years, with many requests being submitted to previous State Governments and SA Water” to improve the water quality.
“Older Aboriginal residents still drink the mains water, which can have serious health effects,” she wrote.
“The effect of the water within businesses and housing causes quick corrosion of pipes, water heaters, washing machines and air conditioning units.
“The result of which is regular replacement costs, which is a huge burden on the householder, business and Government Departments.”
Stewart wrote the town’s poor water quality had also made tourists “reluctant” to stay in the town, prompting a loss in overnight accommodation.
“Future economic development is restricted because of the water quality with business not willing to generate projects that will attract employment, permanent residences and tourism to the Oodnadatta township,” she wrote.
“The basis for Economic Development is a good quality water supply.”
Stewart’s submission comes as the Essential Services Commission looks to hand down its final determination on SA Water’s 2020-24 regulatory plan by early next month.
SA Water prioritised Oodnadatta as the first of 19 communities across the state currently without clean water to receive upgraded treatment infrastructure under the draft plan.
The agency said its customers – not the State Government – were happy to foot the $37.7 million bill to fund the work if it received the go-ahead from ESCOSA.
But ESCOSA rejected the proposal in its draft determination as a “partial solution that provides limited incremental benefits to a small number of customers at a very high cost”.
“It has been disturbing to hear the stories of elders who fear for the future of their people because of decades without potable water”
In his submission to ESCOSA, Aboriginal Lands Trust chief executive John Chester wrote that he had visited Oodnadatta and was “sad to see the (impact the) water crisis is having on the Aboriginal people”.
“There is a ten-year gap in the average life expectancy between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people,” he wrote.
“This is often down to preventable measures related to environmental health issues.
“ESCOSA, please step through to the door to change investment by supporting the step suggested by SA Water.”
Chester’s comments were echoed by SA Water Reconciliation Committee co-chair David Rathman, who wrote that Aboriginal people were being “neglected by the system” and their requests for improved water treatment infrastructure had been “largely ignored”.
“It has been disturbing to hear the stories of elders who fear for the future of their people because of decades without potable water,” he wrote.
“Many people speak of dental problems because they can’t use the water and the dangers when extreme summers descend on the people forcing many to drink unsafe water.
“Aboriginal people suffer extreme health challenges (and) amongst our biggest concern in regional and remote areas are kidney disease and cardio-vascular disease.
“As a member of the South Australian community and a proud Aboriginal person I request the Commission revisit its decision and approve the proposal put forward by SA Water.”
In 2018, the Outback Communities Authority (OCA) announced it would install clean drinking water stations in Oodnadatta and nearby Marla, funded by a $53,000 State and Federal Government grant.
In a media release, the reverse osmosis filter stations were touted as providing a “high quality water solution” for when “critical human use is most required”, as well as for tourists, “who want clean water for their camping needs”.
Oodnadatta’s coin-operated station charges $4 for every 20-litres of water – a price residents have described unaffordable on a day-to-day basis.
In response to questions in parliament in September, Human Services Minister Michelle Lensink said that the “intended purpose” of the Oodnadatta water station was “the provision of a drinking water supply to tourists passing through the town, and not to be a primary source of drinking water to the local community”.
In its submission to ESCOSA, the OCA said the $37.7 million price tag of SA Water’s proposal to supply remote communities with safe drinking water was “without doubt a significant number”, but “the dollar value of the proposal must… be tempered by the essential nature of the supply”.
“Water is the very essence of life and a scare commodity in outback SA,” OCA director Mark Sutton wrote.
“The outback communities that stand to benefit from this proposal rely predominantly upon rainwater for their potable needs.
“The nature of the outback is that rain events are infrequent making reliance on this source a precarious mode of operation.”
Sutton suggested SA Water consider funding additional reverse osmosis filtration systems as a “means of providing a potable supply to outback SA that would be far less expensive”.
“Whilst these stations are low volume output designed primarily for the travelling public, they can, and are being used by community members in time of need e.g. when rainwater is not available,” he said.
“With some modification units such as these could be employed by SA Water to supply remote communities with sufficient potable water to meet the need for human consumption.”
In its submission to ESCOSA, SA Water maintained that the $37.7 million spend to provide safe drinking water to all South Australian communities was necessary.
“Disallowing this project undervalues regional water customers and places them at a disadvantage to metropolitan customers,” its submission stated.
Meanwhile, the State Government has convened a cross-government taskforce to examine water quality issues facing regional and remote communities.
InDaily asked a spokesperson for Water Minister David Speirs whether the group has met or provided any recommendations but is yet to receive a response.
Oodnadatta residents “suffering” from poor water quality: Aboriginal Health Council
March 6 2020 (Indaily)
Residents of the outback town of Oodnadatta are “suffering in conditions that we wouldn’t expect anyone in our community to live with day to day” due to their poor water quality, the state’s peak Aboriginal health group says.
The Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia (AHCSA) claims both the State and Federal Governments have been made aware of reports into the “poor water quality” and “unsatisfactory availability” of drinking water in Oodnadatta in the state’s far north since 2006, but no action has been taken.
SA Water has warned Oodnadatta residents not to drink the bore water it supplies to houses as it may contain the parasite naegleria fowleri which, when inhaled, causes a rare but almost always fatal brain infection.
The SA Housing Authority has also warned Oodnadatta residents against drinking what it calls “undrinkable” and “unfiltered” rainwater, as the tanks provided at its leased properties are not intended to supply drinking water.
The situation leaves Oodnadatta residents to choose between drinking the questionable bore or rainwater, buying expensive bottled water, or taking containers to a clean water outlet set up in the town’s main street, which the State Government says is mainly for passing tourists and which costs $4 for 20 litres.
InDaily reported yesterday that the State Government had convened a cross-government working group to examine water supply issues facing remote communities.
That group currently comprises government agencies and departments, but AHCSA CEO Nahtanha Davey has asked to have her organisation also included as “it is important that the particular water needs of Aboriginal communities, and particularly remote communities, is given the consideration they deserve”.
She said AHCSA was “morally bound to advocate on such an important matter” and that while the “remoteness of Oodnadatta may make it easy to overlook, people there are suffering in conditions that we wouldn’t expect anyone in our community to live with day to day”.
“The availability of safe drinking water in remote communities is not a new issue, Davey said.
“As far back as 2006 reports have been made of the poor water quality and the unsatisfactory availability of an alternative option for the Oodnadatta community, but to no avail.
“Aboriginal people have (a) right to affordable clean water, in sufficient quantity to meet daily needs – which is likely to be increasing with climate changes and higher temperatures – and of a quality which does not add to the health burden.”
InDaily contacted the State Government for comment but is yet to receive a response.
SA Water has prioritised Oodnadatta as the first of 19 communities without clean drinking water across the state to receive upgraded treatment infrastructure in its 2020-2024 regulatory plan.
The agency said its customers – not the State Government – were happy to pay extra to fund the work if it received the go-ahead from ESCOSA.
But the Essential Services Commission of SA (ESCOSA) rejected the proposal – estimated to cost up to $200 million – as a “partial solution that provides limited incremental benefits to a small number of customers at a very high cost” in its draft determination handed down on Wednesday.
Davey said AHCSA supported SA Water’s proposal, despite it being “certainly not cheap”.
“In difficult economic conditions it is understandable why some stakeholders are keen to see a greater return to the consumer rather than having consumers cross-subsidise a remote community,” she said.
“Access to clean water, however, is a fundamental and important right.
“If the proposal by SA Water to fund the rectification works for Oodnadatta through customer contributions is rejected, the matter cannot simply be passed on or set aside.
“We are calling on the Government to commit to fund the rectification work if ESCOSA does not allow it to be funded through consumer contributions.”
Treasurer Rob Lucas said earlier this week that the Government “would have to consider” whether it would be open to funding water treatment infrastructure for remote towns once ESCOSA handed down its final determination in May.
Oodnadatta – South Australia Dec 12 2019 Indaily
NOT A SAFE DROP TO DRINK:
SA town’s water scandal
It is one of the most arid places in South Australia, but for decades the outback town of Oodnadatta has been without safe drinking water, prompting health concerns and leaving locals furious about what they claim is a fundamental breach of human rights.
Residents in Oodnadatta – a remote, predominantly Aboriginal town about 1000-kilometres north of Adelaide – are charged over $300 each year to use what SA Water warns is non-drinkable and potentially fatal bore water.
The water quality is so bad, SA Water tells the residents who pay for it that not only should they and their children never drink it – they should never use it to brush teeth, wash food or get it up their nose.
Advice is to use bore water plumbed into homes only for safely showering, flushing toilets, washing clothes and dishes and for air-conditioners and irrigation.
Some residents have relied on rainwater tanks for drinking water. Until now.
This week, following questions from InDaily, the SA Housing Authority warned Oodnadatta residents against drinking what it called “undrinkable” and “unfiltered” rainwater, saying the rainwater tanks at its properties were not intended to supply drinking water.
Despite this, SA Water advises rainwater from well-maintained systems is safe to drink, with boiling the water an effective option.
The situation leaves Oodnadatta residents to choose between drinking the questionable bore or rainwater, buying expensive bottled water, or taking containers to a clean water outlet set up in the town’s main street for use mainly by passing tourists and which costs $4 for 20 litres.
Meanwhile, SA Water continues to charge for bore water unfit for human consumption and which it says may contain naegleria fowleri – a microorganism it frequently tests for and which causes a very rare but almost always fatal brain infection.
Even boiling the water, which is sourced from two bores tapped into the Great Artesian Basin, will not make it safe to drink.
The infection – called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis – causes the rapid destruction of brain tissue, promoting nausea, hallucinations, high fever and eventually, death.
According to SA Health records, the infection was last detected in Whyalla in 1981 following the death of a ten-year-old boy.
SA Water told InDaily naegleria fowleri has never been detected in Oodnadatta’s water supply, but a risk of contamination has prompted it to issue repeated warnings to the town’s approximate 200 residents.
“The microorganism, naegleria fowleri, may be present in your non-drinking water supply,” a SA Water guide distributed to Oodnadatta residents and businesses says.
“Avoid swallowing water or allowing water to go up your nose when showering, bathing or using sinus irrigation products with unboiled water.
“Children must avoid swallowing water or getting water up their nose when bathing or playing with water, including using a hose or a paddling pool.”
Water testing data obtained by InDaily through a freedom of information request shows the town’s non-drinking bore water has, over the past decade, consistently exceeded national drinking water guidelines for recommended chloride, sodium, sulphate and total dissolved solid levels.
SA Water claims the water can be used safely for some domestic use as well as watering stock.
“As the supply is not yet treated or disinfected, it should not be ingested via drinking, food preparation, cleaning teeth, swallowing or allowing water to go up noses when showering, bathing or playing in it,” water expertise senior manager Dr Daniel Hoefel said.
However, InDaily has spoken to several Oodnadatta residents, who said they regularly use the bore water to shower, wash clothes, clean their houses and even drink.
The bore water is also connected to air-conditioning units and fills the town’s swimming pool, making inhaling and swallowing the water near impossible to avoid.
“Please do not drink the bore water or rainwater at your house”
Aside from bore water quality and health risks, residents have also been warned to avoid drinking rainwater.
Until recently, the majority of Oodnadatta residents sourced their drinking water from often-contaminated and sometimes near-empty rainwater tanks – the town recording an average annual rainfall of just 175.8 millimetres.
The SA Housing Authority has fitted none of its 39 leased houses in Oodnadatta with rainwater filters, with a spokesperson telling InDaily that “as the town is supplied with bore water, rainwater tanks do not supply water to houses and therefore are not fitted with filters”.
InDaily asked the SA Housing Authority if it was aware that the bore water plumbed to Oodnadatta houses is non-drinkable and potentially fatal.
The spokesperson referred the question to SA Water.
“We are actively working with SA Housing Authority and the Oodnadatta community to assist local residents to understand (our) advice, and we have confirmed with SA Housing Authority the information is provided to residents at all the properties it leases in Oodnadatta,” SA Water’s Dr Daniel Hoefel responded.
Following questions from InDaily, the SA Housing Authority this week distributed notices to Oodnadatta residents warning them not to drink rainwater.
“Please do not drink the bore water or rainwater at your house,” the notices say.
“The water is not filtered and the tanks were not built to provide drinkable water.”
In a statement, a SA Housing Authority spokesperson told InDaily that the notices were distributed “to make sure they (Oodnadatta residents) are aware the rainwater tanks were not built to provide drinking water”.
“Queries regarding water supply issues should be directed to SA Water,” the spokesperson said.
SA Water told InDaily in a statement today that “SA Health advises that water collected in… well-maintained systems is typically safe to drink and unlikely to cause any illness for most users, with boiling the water often being an effective disinfectant”.
Oodnadatta – South Australia – Chloride
August 2016: Oodnadatta (South Australia) – Chloride 657mg/L
9/8/21: Oodnadatta Non Potable Chloride 614mg/L (max)
26/8/19: Oodnadatta (South Australia) Chloride 598mg/L (non-potable)
NON POTABLE SUPPLY
Based on aesthetic considerations, the chloride concentration in drinking water should not
exceed 250 mg/L.
Chloride is present in natural waters from the dissolution of salt deposits, and contamination from effluent disposal.
Sodium chloride is widely used in the production of industrial chemicals such as caustic soda, chlorine, and sodium chlorite and hypochlorite. Potassium chloride is used in the production of fertilisers.
The taste threshold of chloride in water is dependent on the associated cation but is in the range 200–300 mg/L. The chloride content of water can affect corrosion of pipes and fittings. It can also affect the solubility of metal ions.
Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011
Oodnadatta – South Australia – Sodium
March 2017: Oodnadatta (South Australia) – Sodium 549mg/L
26/8/19: Oodnadatta (South Australia) Sodium 499mg/L (max) Non-potable
9/8/21: Oodnadatta Non Potable Sodium 497mg/L (max)
NON POTABLE DRINKING WATER
GUIDELINE
“Based on aesthetic considerations (taste), the concentration of sodium in drinking water
should not exceed 180 mg/L.
No health-based guideline value is proposed for sodium. Medical practitioners treating
people with severe hypertension or congestive heart failure should be aware if the sodium
concentration in the patient’s drinking water exceeds 20 mg/L.”
Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011
Oodnadatta – South Australia – Sulphate
NON POTABLE DRINKING WATER
August 2016: Oodnadatta (South Australia) – Sulphate 336mg/L
Based on aesthetic considerations (taste), the concentration of sulfate in drinking water
should not exceed 250 mg/L. Purgative effects may occur if the concentration exceeds 500 mg/L.
Sulfate occurs naturally in a number of minerals, and is used commercially in the manufacture of numerous products including chemicals, dyes, glass, paper, soaps, textiles, fungicides and insecticides. Sulfate, including sulfuric acid, is also used in mining, pulping, and the metal and plating industries. Barium sulfate is used as a lubricant in drilling rigs for groundwater supply.
In the water industry, aluminium sulfate (alum) is used as a flocculant in water treatment, and copper sulfate is used for the control of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in water storages…
The taste threshold for sulfate is in the range 250–500 mg/L. Under anoxic conditions, the reduction of sulfate to sulfide by sulfate-reducing bacteria can result in unpleasant taste and odour due to the release of hydrogen sulfide, and can increase corrosion in pipes.
Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011
Oodnadatta – South Australia – Temperature
NON POTABLE DRINKING WATER
August 15 2016: Oodnadatta (South Australia) – Temperature 22C
November 21 2016: Oodnadatta (South Australia) – Temperature 38C
February 20 2017: Oodnadatta (South Australia) – Temperature 36C
May 22 2017: Oodnadatta (South Australia) – Temperature 25C
Oodnadatta Non Potable Temperature 9/8/21-24/5/22 >20C. 8/11/21 32C (max)
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).
Chlorine reacts with organic matter in water to produce undesirable chlorinated organic by-products, and higher temperatures increase the rate of these reactions.
Temperature can directly affect the growth and survival of microorganisms. In general the survival time of infectious bacteria and parasites is reduced as the temperature of the contaminated water increases.
Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011
Oodnadatta – South Australia – Total Dissolved Solids
NON POTABLE DRINKING WATER
August 15 2016: Oodnadatta (South Australia) – Total Dissolved Solids (by EC) 1600mg/L
2019/20: Oodnadatta (South Australia) Total Dissolved Solids 1740mg/L (max), 1713mg/L (av.) Non-potable
8/11/21: Oodnadatta Non Potable Total Dissolved Solids 1700mg/L (max) (av. 2021/22 1695mg/L)
GUIDELINE
“No specific health guideline value is provided for total dissolved solids (TDS), as there are no
health effects directly attributable to TDS. However for good palatability total dissolved solids
in drinking water should not exceed 600 mg/L.
Total dissolved solids (TDS) consist of inorganic salts and small amounts of organic matter that are dissolved in water. Clay particles, colloidal iron and manganese oxides and silica, fine enough to pass through a 0.45 micron filter membrane can also contribute to total dissolved solids.
Total dissolved solids comprise: sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulfate, bicarbonate, carbonate, silica, organic matter, fluoride, iron, manganese, nitrate, nitrite and phosphates…”
Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011
Oodnadatta (South Australia) – Hardness (Non potable drinking water)
26/8/19: Oodnadatta Total Hardness 280mg/L (max) Non-potable
GUIDELINE
“To minimise undesirable build‑up of scale in hot water systems, total hardness (as calcium
carbonate) in drinking water should not exceed 200 mg/L.
Hard water requires more soap than soft water to obtain a lather. It can also cause scale to form on hot water pipes and fittings. Hardness is caused primarily by the presence of calcium and magnesium ions, although other cations such as strontium, iron, manganese and barium can also contribute.”
Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011
Oodnadatta (South Australia) – Iron (Non potable drinking water)
2019/20: Oodnadatta Iron 0.3258mg/L (max) 0.3117mg/L (av.) (non-potable)
15/2/22: Oodnadatta Non Potable Iron 0.325mg/L (max) (av. 2021/22 0.26mg/L)
Based on aesthetic considerations (precipitation of iron from solution and taste),
the concentration of iron in drinking water should not exceed 0.3 mg/L.
No health-based guideline value has been set for iron.
Iron has a taste threshold of about 0.3 mg/L in water, and becomes objectionable above 3 mg/L. High iron concentrations give water an undesirable rust-brown appearance and can cause staining of laundry and plumbing fittings, fouling of ion-exchange softeners, and blockages in irrigation systems. Growths of iron bacteria, which concentrate iron, may cause taste and odour problems and lead to pipe restrictions, blockages and corrosion. ADWG 2011