Cloncurry Shire Council has been forced to ship water to the township of Dajarra after four of the five bores in town were found to be contaminated with uranium.
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In a notice to townspeople signed by CEO Bruce Davidson Cloncurry Shire Council said acknowledges the ongoing service interruptions and quality inconsistencies within the Dajarra Water Supply network.
"Council have been working for some time on improving the quality of water for the benefit of the Dajarra residents and businesses," Mr Davidson said.
"In February 2020, Council completed a project to install a Reverse Osmosis Plant which was aimed at treating the water to the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Since this time, Council has faced several issues resulting in the inefficiency of the plant."
Some of these issues include power failures and infrastructure failures while the plant at peak operation does not have capacity to treat water at the rate in which the community demands.
Mr Davidson said recent investigations have determined that the Dajarra community requires at least 350,000L of water daily to maintain pressure and flow throughout the network whereas the Dajarra Water Treatment Plant has the capacity to treat up to 120,000L to the Australian Drinking Water Standards.
"For comparison, Cloncurry's water demand is on average 1296L per person per day despite commercial uses, while the water demand for Dajarra averages 1933L per person per day," he said.
"Council has undertaken a number of investigations given its inability to provide adequate volumes of water to the community daily"
Council said investigations included raw water characteristics, potential system losses due to leaks or illegal connections, plant and network upgrade options.
"These investigations, particularly in respect of system losses and upgrade options are still underway and the outcome will present a way forward for the long-term rectification of the current supply issues," Mr Davidson said.
"In respect to raw water quality, preliminary test results indicate the presence of uranium exceeding the acceptable health limits for consumption within four of its five supply bores."
Mr Davidson said Council has considered the potential risk to the community from the supply of this water, and as such, has ceased the introduction of raw water into its network.
"The reduction of flow from four of the five bores into the network has resulted in Council's inability to maintain consistent flow throughout the network," he said.
"In brief, the facts surrounding the current Dajarra raw water quality particularly pertaining to uranium, are as follows.
"Uranium is a naturally occurring element that is found in soils and rocks in many parts of Australia. . If ingested at a sufficiently high concentration, it can have both toxic and radiological effects on humans. Food and water are the main sources of uranium intake."
The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines provide a safe limit of uranium in water as 17g/l. Four of Councils raw water source bores exceed this limit with results of 46g/l (School Bore), 46g/l (Bore 1), 23g/l (Bore 9) and 45g/l (MIM Bore).
"The treatment plant is capable of removing uranium however, it cannot meet the demands of the community," Mr Davidson said.
"To ensure there is enough water for the community, Council has commenced carting 120,000L of water to Dajarra daily and will continue to do so until such time as this matter is resolved. However, this additional water cartage combined with the plant's output does not meet the overall average demand of the township. Council seeks the community's assistance to limit the use of water where possible until the matter is resolved."
Council is working with Queensland Health to prepare a fact sheet for use in the community.
Council installed a $350,000 water treatment plant in the town in late 2019.
In early 20202 Council commissioned the reverse osmosis system, which was connected to existing infrastructure.
Dajarra has always had bore water which left corrosion on pipes and tap fittings.
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
