Villagers hit boiling point over water alert

By Tim Howard

Residents of a village near Grafton, warned to boil their town water because of a filtration failure, said the Clarence Valley Council has neglected them.

The co-ownersof the Golden Dog, at Glenreagh, Stephanie Luck, said council, which supplies the water, had been tardy informing businesses and locals of the alert, which came into force on October 11.

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Ms Luck, said the said when the boil water alert had first been made there had been no information about how long it might be in place, which was damaging for her business.

“It came on a Friday morning, I wanted to know when it might be fixed,” she said.

“I couldn’t pour soft drinks through the post mix system and if it wasn’t going to be fixed, I need to get to town to buy enough soft drinks for the weekend.”

Ms Luck said she had contact all councillors and staff via email, but only one person from the council had shown any interest.

“(Cr) Debrah Novak was the only one at council who got back to me,” she said. “The town feels like the council has neglected us.”

She  said no-one at the council could say how long the people needed to boil water from the tap.

A council press release said council had been forced with switch supply from the Nymboida River to Shannon Creek Dam because of reduced river flows.

The release said initial attempts to resolve the turbidity levels at the Glenreagh Water Treatment Plant had been unsuccessful, and council was pursuing replacement filtration system options.

“We are currently doing every thing we can to alleviate the situation as fast as possible and should have a clearer timeline by next week of when it will be resolved,” council manager water and sewer operations Andrew Potter said.

“Council hired a temporary filtration unit for Glenreagh in February 2023.

“While it has been effective in reducing turbidity, it has failed to return drinking water quality to the required level since we started drawing water from Shannon Creek Dam due to low flow conditions of the Nymboida River.”

But residents said the council has not realised how serious the effects of the problem will be.

Ms Luck said the boil water alert was bad news for their business.

“On top of the additional costs of buying in soft drink, our customers numbers are down,” she said.

“People see there’s a boil water alert at Glenreagh and don’t come to the town or stop if they’re travelling through.

Staff at the Golden Dog show how unfit to drink the water is coming from the taps in the town, which has been placed on a boil water alert by Clarence Valley Council

Being unable to free access tap water was created issues in the kitchen.

“When we cook rice or pasta we run it under cold tap water to stop it cooking,” she said.

“We can’t do that now. And Responsible Services of Alcohol legislation requires us to provide free water to patrons.

“Boiling water before we can do that, rather than through our post mix taps, is an extra cost.

“We have 20 people on staff here we have to look after and this going on for three or four more weeks is so frustrating.

“I haven’t been game enough to do the sums yet, but my guess it will cost us at least $5000.”

Glenreagh resident and kidney transplant recipient Tegan Grey said problems with water supply could have a big impact on her health.

“We have lived here for nearly two years and have had this happen a few times,” she said.

“It’s frustrating and I am pregnant and have also have had a kidney transplant, which makes me very ill if I get any bugs in my system.

“It’s pretty hard to boil and cool down a jug for drinking water all the time as we go through a bit so we are buying.

“I also have a 10-year-old and two-year-old the 10 year old goes to Glenreagh Public School where they have not been provided with any water other then donations of some thoughtful people which is great.”

But Ms Grey did not have a kind word for the council.

“Not much can be said about our council and how they have not helped or informed us of anything and why so long,” she said.

“Three to four weeks after already a week? That’s seems long or are we not a priority?”

Ms Luck said the council should have been aware of the water quality problems ahead of time.

“When the water comes from the Nymboida it’s crystal clear, but they know when they switch to Shannon Creek Dam water there’s a problem,” she said.

“It’s happened before, but it appears the council thinks Glenreagh is the a___e end of their area.

“They’re saying we just have to put up with whatever they’re doing or not doing.”

Social media was also buzzing with complaints about the quality of the water supply.

The council said it collected daily water samples for laboratory analysis with no detection of E. coli.

Ultra violet and chlorine disinfection treatment units continue to function to the required standards.

The council has issued the following advice for residents:

• Water used for drinking or food preparation should be brought to a rolling boil to make it safe. Kettles with automatic shut off switches can do this. Water should then be allowed to cool and stored in a clean container with a lid and refrigerated.
• Everyone, particularly people caring for young children, should be careful to avoid scalding, when you are heating and then cooling the water.
• Bottled water or cool boiled water should be used for drinking, washing uncooked food (e.g. salad vegetables and fruit), making ice, cleaning teeth, gargling and pet’s drinking water.
• Dishes should be washed in hot soapy water or in a dishwasher.
• Children should take bottled water or cool boiled water to school/childcare.

The council said updates would appear on its website and Facebook page.

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