Australian Drinking Water Map

Drinking water turns ‘evil’ in string of Aussie town

Michael Dahlstrom ·Environment Editor
https://au.news.yahoo.com/drinking-water-turns-evil-several-aussie-towns-015449023.html
 

Drinking water straight from the tap is no longer possible in several NSW regions after flooding contaminated supplies.

To prevent illness, boil water notices were issued this year for several towns including Nimbin, Eugowra and Narrandera. Images shared to social media show discoloured brown water which a Moama resident said came from her kitchen tap.

Western Sydney University water scientist Dr Ian Wright told Yahoo News Australia he’s never seen so many boil water alerts in NSW.

He notes extreme weather like flood, fire and dust storms put “huge pressure” on water systems. “Floods are really just a great way of mobilising every known pollutant in a landscape and sending it down the river,” he said.

The health risks of contaminated water

Dr Wright warns it is not just drinking unboiled water that can prove harmful. Even contact with skin can have devastating results. “Health authorities always warn us to limit physical contact with floodwater, particularly if you’re elderly, or have cuts and scratches,” he said.

When analysing water, his team looks for faecal coliform indicators. Their presence indicates there is warm-blooded animal waste in the supply. “I’ve tested a lot of water after floods and it’s just evil. We grab samples and test them in the lab the bacteria results just light up.”

Bacteria, viruses and parasites like giardia and cryptosporidium can enter the water supply after flooding. If people drink affected water without boiling it, Dr Wright warns you’re “spinning the chamber in the revolver”. “It’s absolutely Russian roulette.”

“The advice is boil the water, but you don’t just boil it like you’re making a cup of tea, you boil it and leave it on what they call a rolling boil,” he said. “So you hold the button down… for 30 seconds or so then let it cool down.”

Drinking water straight from the tap is no longer possible in several NSW regions after flooding contaminated supplies.

To prevent illness, boil water notices were issued this year for several towns including Nimbin, Eugowra and Narrandera. Images shared to social media show discoloured brown water which a Moama resident said came from her kitchen tap.

Western Sydney University water scientist Dr Ian Wright told Yahoo News Australia he’s never seen so many boil water alerts in NSW.

He notes extreme weather like flood, fire and dust storms put “huge pressure” on water systems. “Floods are really just a great way of mobilising every known pollutant in a landscape and sending it down the river,” he said.

The health risks of contaminated water

Dr Wright warns it is not just drinking unboiled water that can prove harmful. Even contact with skin can have devastating results. “Health authorities always warn us to limit physical contact with floodwater, particularly if you’re elderly, or have cuts and scratches,” he said.

When analysing water, his team looks for faecal coliform indicators. Their presence indicates there is warm-blooded animal waste in the supply. “I’ve tested a lot of water after floods and it’s just evil. We grab samples and test them in the lab the bacteria results just light up.”

Bacteria, viruses and parasites like giardia and cryptosporidium can enter the water supply after flooding. If people drink affected water without boiling it, Dr Wright warns you’re “spinning the chamber in the revolver”. “It’s absolutely Russian roulette.”

“The advice is boil the water, but you don’t just boil it like you’re making a cup of tea, you boil it and leave it on what they call a rolling boil,” he said. “So you hold the button down… for 30 seconds or so then let it cool down.

In many small towns in Australia, councils are responsible for managing the upkeep of water and sewerage systems and combatting the impact of flooding can sometimes be beyond their ability.

“If you don’t travel much and you’re from a big city in Australia, drinking water straight from a tap is probably something you take for granted,” Dr Wright said. “But as soon as you go into a regional location, overseas, or to a developing country, we suddenly become aware of water problems.”

Nimbin residents face water restrictions despite flooding rain

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-11/nimbin-residents-water-restriction-despite-flooding-rain/101523074

11 October 2022

In a cruel irony, a community in the far north of New South Wales is on high alert with water restrictions in place.

Drinking water is a scarce resource in the Nimbin area despite months of heavy rain and a record flood earlier this year.

Residents are being told to boil water and wash pets in a bucket under the latest introduction of level three water restrictions.

Watering the garden is limited to every second day.

But the real problem is drinking water.

Resident Teresa Biscoe said it was like living in a developing country.

“It is a First World country, but we’re having Third World issues like unsafe drinking water,” she said.

Lismore City Council general manager John Walker said water was being trucked to fill the village weir but there was a longer term solution.

“We are building a water treatment plant, that’s in the budget for this financial year and that will help fix the problem long term,” Mr Walker said.

December 2019 – Nimbin (New South Wales)

18/12/2019 Lismore City Council and Nimbin Water Supply Rural Customers

Boil Water Alert

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/water/Documents/bwa-nimbin-dec2019.pdf

Poor raw water quality or treatment failure

The pipeline between Mulgum Creek and DE Williams Dam has become contaminated with sediment. Effective Chlorine disinfection cannot be assured for customers connected to the water supply between Weir and Dam. This boil water notice is effective between December 18th 2019 until further notice.

2019/22 – Nimbin (New South Wales) – Boil Water Alerts, Sediment, Turbidity

in ,

Drinking water turns ‘evil’ in string of Aussie town

Michael Dahlstrom ·Environment Editor
https://au.news.yahoo.com/drinking-water-turns-evil-several-aussie-towns-015449023.html

Drinking water straight from the tap is no longer possible in several NSW regions after flooding contaminated supplies.

To prevent illness, boil water notices were issued this year for several towns including Nimbin, Eugowra and Narrandera. Images shared to social media show discoloured brown water which a Moama resident said came from her kitchen tap.

Western Sydney University water scientist Dr Ian Wright told Yahoo News Australia he’s never seen so many boil water alerts in NSW.

He notes extreme weather like flood, fire and dust storms put “huge pressure” on water systems. “Floods are really just a great way of mobilising every known pollutant in a landscape and sending it down the river,” he said.

The health risks of contaminated water

Dr Wright warns it is not just drinking unboiled water that can prove harmful. Even contact with skin can have devastating results. “Health authorities always warn us to limit physical contact with floodwater, particularly if you’re elderly, or have cuts and scratches,” he said.

When analysing water, his team looks for faecal coliform indicators. Their presence indicates there is warm-blooded animal waste in the supply. “I’ve tested a lot of water after floods and it’s just evil. We grab samples and test them in the lab the bacteria results just light up.”

Bacteria, viruses and parasites like giardia and cryptosporidium can enter the water supply after flooding. If people drink affected water without boiling it, Dr Wright warns you’re “spinning the chamber in the revolver”. “It’s absolutely Russian roulette.”

“The advice is boil the water, but you don’t just boil it like you’re making a cup of tea, you boil it and leave it on what they call a rolling boil,” he said. “So you hold the button down… for 30 seconds or so then let it cool down.”

Drinking water straight from the tap is no longer possible in several NSW regions after flooding contaminated supplies.

To prevent illness, boil water notices were issued this year for several towns including Nimbin, Eugowra and Narrandera. Images shared to social media show discoloured brown water which a Moama resident said came from her kitchen tap.

Western Sydney University water scientist Dr Ian Wright told Yahoo News Australia he’s never seen so many boil water alerts in NSW.

He notes extreme weather like flood, fire and dust storms put “huge pressure” on water systems. “Floods are really just a great way of mobilising every known pollutant in a landscape and sending it down the river,” he said.

The health risks of contaminated water

Dr Wright warns it is not just drinking unboiled water that can prove harmful. Even contact with skin can have devastating results. “Health authorities always warn us to limit physical contact with floodwater, particularly if you’re elderly, or have cuts and scratches,” he said.

When analysing water, his team looks for faecal coliform indicators. Their presence indicates there is warm-blooded animal waste in the supply. “I’ve tested a lot of water after floods and it’s just evil. We grab samples and test them in the lab the bacteria results just light up.”

Bacteria, viruses and parasites like giardia and cryptosporidium can enter the water supply after flooding. If people drink affected water without boiling it, Dr Wright warns you’re “spinning the chamber in the revolver”. “It’s absolutely Russian roulette.”

“The advice is boil the water, but you don’t just boil it like you’re making a cup of tea, you boil it and leave it on what they call a rolling boil,” he said. “So you hold the button down… for 30 seconds or so then let it cool down.

In many small towns in Australia, councils are responsible for managing the upkeep of water and sewerage systems and combatting the impact of flooding can sometimes be beyond their ability.

“If you don’t travel much and you’re from a big city in Australia, drinking water straight from a tap is probably something you take for granted,” Dr Wright said. “But as soon as you go into a regional location, overseas, or to a developing country, we suddenly become aware of water problems.”

Nimbin residents face water restrictions despite flooding rain

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-11/nimbin-residents-water-restriction-despite-flooding-rain/101523074

11 October 2022

In a cruel irony, a community in the far north of New South Wales is on high alert with water restrictions in place.

Drinking water is a scarce resource in the Nimbin area despite months of heavy rain and a record flood earlier this year.

Residents are being told to boil water and wash pets in a bucket under the latest introduction of level three water restrictions.

Watering the garden is limited to every second day.

But the real problem is drinking water.

Resident Teresa Biscoe said it was like living in a developing country.

“It is a First World country, but we’re having Third World issues like unsafe drinking water,” she said.

Lismore City Council general manager John Walker said water was being trucked to fill the village weir but there was a longer term solution.

“We are building a water treatment plant, that’s in the budget for this financial year and that will help fix the problem long term,” Mr Walker said.

The source of the issue

Mr Walker said the weir which held the water was “high in turbidity”.

“If it is allowed to come down to the dam we believe it would significantly compromise water quality,” Mr Walker said.

Ms Biscoe said most Nimbin residents had become used to the situation and were filtering, buying and boiling their water.

But she was concerned for people who lived rough on the streets of Nimbin.

“These people don’t have the money to buy water and a lot of them would just be using what’s in the [freely accessible] supply.”

December 2019 – Nimbin (New South Wales)

18/12/2019 Lismore City Council and Nimbin Water Supply Rural Customers

Boil Water Alert

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/water/Documents/bwa-nimbin-dec2019.pdf

Poor raw water quality or treatment failure

The pipeline between Mulgum Creek and DE Williams Dam has become contaminated with sediment. Effective Chlorine disinfection cannot be assured for customers connected to the water supply between Weir and Dam. This boil water notice is effective between December 18th 2019 until further notice.