Australian Regional City’s Water Supply Undrinkable as Works to Drain Contamination Continue

Sandbags enforce the end of a boat ramp due to low water levels on the Macquarie River on September 16, 2019 in Dubbo, Australia. (David Gray/Getty Images)

A boil water alert for the New South Wales (NSW) regional city of Dubbo and some surrounding areas has remained in place for more than a week following recent flooding that caused turbidity to exceed safe levels.

The alert was issued at 8 a.m. on July 7 and covers the areas of Dubbo, Firgrove, Wongarbon, Eumungerie, Ballimore, Mogriguy, and Brocklehurst.

This follows recent flooding in the Macquarie-Wambuul River that caused turbidity levels in Dubbo’s water to exceed the maximum of 0.5, which triggered the boil alert on July 7.

In a statement published on July 14, Dubbo Regional Council (DRC) said both the council and NSW Public Health are working to “expedite the dilution of the city’s reservoirs in order to lift the boil water alert as soon as possible.”

“DRC have engaged Public Works Advisory and an independent consultant to analyse the dilution targets in the attempt to reduce the disruption to the community.”

Bottled water was reported to have been stripped bare from local supermarkets within an hour of the boil water alert being issued on July 7.

According to Luke Ryan, Dubbo’s director of infrastructure, getting the water back to safe drinking levels will occur in a zoned approach, with each area given the all-clear at different times.

“In terms of diluting the water, that means we’ve actually got to add water to the reservoir and then drain it all the way back down,” Ryan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

The ABC also reports that this is the first time Dubbo had experienced a boil-water alert since November 2016, when one of its reservoirs was contaminated with bird excrement that caused a high risk of E. Coli contamination.

Further Testing

Dubbo Regional Council said it is also working with Sydney Water to test for Cryptosporidium on top of its regular microbiology testing.

Cryptosporidium is a parasite that causes Cryptosporidiosis, a diarrhoeal disease that affects the intestines, according to NSW Health.

While there are no reports of gastro illness in the Dubbo region, Priscilla Stanley from the Western NSW Local Health District said locals should be on the lookout for symptoms, the ABC reported.

“[cryptosporidiosis] can cause a catastrophic outcome … people need to keep boiling and cooling their water to keep themselves out of a dire situation," Stankley said.

The Dubbo Regional Council recommends residents bring water for drinking or food preparation to a rolling boil to make it safe. But tap water may be used for showering and bathing, washing dishes and clothes.

Coastal Cities Better At Adapting to Water Supply Issues

According to Stuart Khan, a water expert at the University of New South Wales, coastal cities are able to adapt to water supply issues as they have a number of sources to draw from, compared to rural and regional areas that often have one supply reported The Guardian.

Additionally, Dubbo has been expanding the number of bores to make the region more drought and flood resilient, The Guardian reported.

During the recent floods in Sydney, the Orchard Hills Water Filtration Plant struggled to produce water and its serviced areas were asked to conserve drinking water. But this pressure was relieved by ramping up Sydney’s seawater desalination plant.

The NSW government has announced a further $369.6 million investment in the Safe and Secure Water Program in the 2022-23 Budget, where it intends to “help to continue work with local water utilities to fund vital water and sewerage infrastructure projects in the regions.”