Member for Barwon Roy Butler calls for an audit of drinking water across NSW

Mr Butler has met with NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson and separately with local government minister Ron Hoenig about the issues.

Mr Butler said there needed to be baseline information on the situation with domestic water across Barwon and Regional NSW.

"There was a general agreement that something major needs to be done and the Department will be getting back to us with information," Mr Butler said.

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Tests have found Walgett's water sourced from bores could have up to 15 times the sodium level recommended for people suffering from chronic health conditions, such as kidney problems, hypertension and heart disease.

"The first priority is getting palatable safe drinking water in Walgett," Mr Butler said.

"Then they need to look at the infrastructure that makes the system more resilient.

"For example, perhaps they can consider moving the pump site closer to the weir in the Barwon.

"But we must ensure we're not in a situation where we don't have a fully trained person to operate the filtration plant."

Water Minister Rose Jackson said it was unacceptable that people in NSW didn't have access to clear drinking water.

"Some immediate first steps are to support staff in Walgett to help fix the water treatment plant and get it back online, start working to get better long term staffing of the water treatment plant and prioritising the reverse osmosis issues," Ms Jackson said.

Ms Jackson has also promised to work directly with the local community and local Aboriginal leaders to distribute information and health advice.

The meeting followed calls from indigenous community groups in Walgett for an independent multi-agency task force to address issues of water insecurity in the town and nearby villages.

Due to concerns over the town's water quality, many locals report they are "going to bed thirsty" or opting to buy expensive bottled water which can put them out of pocket up to $50 a week.

A mobile desalination facility - the reverse osmosis machine - was sent to Walgett in 2020 but it stopped operating after several months due to logistical and waste issues.

Mr Butler said one of the major issues contributing to Walgett's water problems are related to staffing issues.

"Finding someone who has the skills to run the water treatment plant, on a salary I believe is $60k, and getting them to Walgett to do that work, has been one of the challenges. So in Walgett they have internal challenges that have slowed the process down, but they now have a local trained operator with support from agencies," Mr Butler said.

Mr Butler claims every town and community has its own unique challenges when it comes to water.

"For example, in Cobar due to a new treatment plant, the quality of the water is good. But the problem is that the pipeline infrastructure running from Nyngan is end of life, it needs to be replaced," Mr Butler said.

"So even though they're putting in a second 700ML dam at Nyngan, getting that water to Cobar is going to be a problem if the pipeline fails.

"What we found in in Walgett is you can improve the assets but if you don't have qualified staff to operate the plant then that's where major problems can occur."

Mr Butler maintained it was important to remember that these are not new problems.

"The previous government did do some work which is great, but it's only a matter of time before we go back into drought. So getting a new baseline on what we need to do is important for the new government," he said.

"The good news is the channels of communication are quite open, so we're going to use that going forward."

Mr Butler also believes many other towns may be at risk of problems with domestic water supply, especially if drought conditions return.

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