Water issues continue in Gulgong

 One Gulgong resident has expressed her continuing frustration at Dirty Water in Gulgong, telling 2MG that continues to be an ongoing issue for her area, more than 2 years after speaking to other media about the issue.

Lisa also took to social media last week, posting two photos of brown water in her bathtub, saying she refuses to bath her newborn son in that water.

Lisa goes on to say that the issue comes and goes.  Each time, she calls council, they flush the pipes, and the dirty water returns again within a few weeks.

 (Photo: Supplied)

 

We put several questions to Mid-Western Regional Council.  They provided a written statement in reply.

Council was contacted by residents in relation to discoloured water in an area of Mayne Street, Gulgong yesterday (Thursday, 12 November). An operator attended the site to investigate and commenced flushing the system to clear the discolouration. In the process of doing this, a hydrant being used to flush the system was tampered with by vandals, changing the very specific level of water pressure required and in doing so exacerbated the problem of discolouration. This tampering is currently under investigation and police have been contacted. Because of this incident, a problem that would normally be resolved within one or two hours took significantly longer.

Council’s operators will always make attempts to notify affected properties and give instructions to resolve the discolouration problem. Residents are generally asked to run their water from an inside tap furthest away from the meter, so any residual discoloured water can work its way through their internal pipes. Residents experiencing discoloured water should contact Council immediately. The best way to do this is by telephone on 6378 2850.

 

Yesterday’s discolouration was isolated to a small area and was not the result of upgrade works. Council continues to investigate seasonal patterns of discoloured water in Gulgong. 

In 2016, Council increased its budget allocation to the Gulgong Water Mains Replacement Program to replace aging unlined cast iron pipes in Gulgong over a 10 year period. Due to their age, these pipes are rusting, resulting in the red tinge that can appear at some properties. Council has undertaken 10.5km of mains replacement in Gulgong over the last 4 years. There is 6.8km of unlined cast iron pipes in Gulgong still to be replaced.

 

Water quality is monitored continuously at water treatment plants and at selected points within town reticulation systems. Before it leaves all water treatment plants, water is tested to ensure an acceptable drinking quality. Verification monitoring is also undertaken within the systems in which samples are tested and checked against Australian Drinking Water Guidelines by an independent NATA accredited laboratory.