Residents of a southern NSW town say they are living off bottled water because the town supply is leaving them with irritated bowels and skin rashes.
Key points:
- Resident of Narrandera in southern NSW say the town water is making them sick
- Some residents say they experience an allergic reaction to the water
- The council says a solution is still three years away
Karin Olsen moved to Narrandera from Sydney six months ago and said within three days she was suffering from stomach cramps and diarrhoea.
She said when she mentioned her symptoms to a local retailer in town, their response was disturbing.
“They said, ‘For God’s sake don’t drink the tap water’,” Ms Olsen said.
She said that since switching to bottled water, at a cost of $100 per fortnight, her symptoms had gone but the tap water still regularly smelt and looked “putrid”.
Ms Olsen found it incredible that in 21st-century Australia there was still water that was undrinkable.
Longstanding issue
The issue of water cleanliness has plagued Narrandera for years.
In 2022 one local mum told the ABC the dirty water cost her thousands in damage to clothes put through the laundry, and 12 months later another mum, Ariel Tonkies, said she was experiencing physical reactions to the water.
Ms Tonkies has lived in the town for three years with her partner David and sons Alex, aged two, and George, eight months.
She said her water was discoloured and smelt “metallic or like sulphur or chlorine” at least once a week.
She is sensitive to heavy metals and experiences a severe allergic reaction to the water, but said her sons did not have the same sensitivities and reacted with rashes.
“It’s really affecting our quality of life at the moment,” she said.
“It’s making us want to flee the town.”
When the water is bad she has to forgo showering or bathing herself because of her allergic reaction.
“Ten days was longest time. It makes me feel very gross,” she said.
Lack of filtration
Narrandera’s water supply comes from four ground bores placed along the edge of the Murrumbidgee River, which have been there for at least 20 years.
Narrandera Shire Council general manager George Cowan said the town’s water quality was a “number one priority”.
He said the issue stemmed from a decision in the 1980s to use groundwater for the town’s drinking supply without installing a filtration system.
“That decision by the council in the 1980s essentially condemned this community to this outcome,” he said.
Mr Cowan said the water now went through some primary treatments including chlorine injection and, while it was considered safe to drink, it “retains a heavy chemical load and strong taste associated with bore water”.
He said the water was regularly tested and was considered drinkable, and while he had not received many complaints about physical reactions, he urged anyone with symptoms to contact the council.
Solution years away
Mr Cowan said the council had been working with Water NSW to build a new treatment plant for the past six years, but estimated it was still another three years away.
“I would like to do this a lot quicker but unfortunately we haven’t been able to do that given the mechanics of the process that we have to follow,” he said.
In the interim, free domestic filtration devices have been made available to residents.
Ms Olsen said the timeframe was unacceptable and it showed a double standard for residents in the bush.
“In Bondi, Woolhara or Potts Point it would be fixed within 48 hours maximum,” she said.
“This situation, waiting another three years, would not fly in Sydney. No way in hell.”
Water NSW has been contacted for comment.