Red alert remains at Mannus

Tumut and Adelong Times: Jan 4 2019

THE arrival of the New Year has brought no relief for Mannus Lake, as the lake and downstream Mannus Creek remain on red level (high) alert for blue-green algae.

The red alert was instated on December 18 after high levels of a potentially toxic species of blue-green algae were detected in the lake.

This is the second consecutive year that Mannus Lake has suffered a blue-green algae alert, and affected households remain reliant on tank water and Council’s provision of domestic water for the duration of the outbreak.

A council spokesperson said that the red alert remains in effect, and that council is continuing with water sampling and working closely with Water NSW to resolve the issue.

Other areas of the Snowy Valleys Council area have been more fortunate in having their water issues resolved.

Christmas came early for Cloverdale/Morgan’s Reserve residents, with their water boil notice lifted on December 21.

The area suffered more than two weeks of boiling their drinking water or using bottled water after very low chlorine residuals were detected in the Cloverdale Water Supply System.

The low chlorine levels posed a public health threat and sparked council to issue a water boil notice on December 4, which affected around 60 households.

A council spokesperson said that the water boil notice has now been lifted, and that the council is boosting the low chlorine residual manually and will be introducing an automated unit within the next two months. The council is also continuing with water quality monitoring and liaising with NSW Health.