Relief for residents as Walgett Shire Council switches town water supply to the Namoi River for first time in three years

This week, the Walgett Shire Council have begun taking the first steps towards switching the town's water supply back to the Namoi River, a move which should see the taste and quality of town water improve over the coming days.

"We've started today but switching the plant to river water is a complex process that takes time, which is why it will be happening in stages over the next week," explained Minister for Water Rose Jackson, who visited Walgett to speak to the community last week.

"It has been three years since the Namoi River was used as the town's main water supply and it will take a while for the salty bore water to be flushed out of the water network and for residents to notice a difference in the taste of their water.

"It has taken far too long for the switchover to happen, and it will still take some time for the treated river water to flush through the system to people's taps. But this is significant progress."

The town's water concerns have been ongoing since 2018 when the Namoi and Barwon rivers stopped flowing during the drought. Since then, the town has relied on bore water with high levels of sodium pumped in from the Great Artesian basin, an ancient underground aquifer.

In May 2020 a reverse osmosis desalination machine was brought into the town in response to community concerns, however, only a few months later in September it ceased operating due to waste disposal issues.

Despite record rainfall events in recent months, bore water has remained the town's primary water supply, leading many in the community to go thirsty or opt to buy expensive bottled water.

Last Friday, Minister Jackson travelled to Walgett to meet with the Walgett community and representatives from the Dharriwaa Elders Group and Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service and discuss their concerns about the water and ways to address them.

"I recognise the community has been waiting an unacceptably long time to have their water issues resolved, but I am pleased that I was able to sit down with residents in-person to hear their side of the story," Ms Jackson said.

"More importantly, that I was able to fast-track work on the ground that will enable them to have access to cleaner, more palatable drinkable water within days.

"I taste-tested the bore water and it was difficult to drink because of the sodium levels, even though it is safe and technically meets Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

"The reality is the bores were never designed to be used for long-term water supply. They were installed in the state's worst drought to be used in times of emergency."

Although considered "safe" for consumption, testing by UNSW and the George Institute for Global Health showed the sodium level in Walgett's water supply was 15 times higher than what medical practitioners recommend for long-term consumption by people with hypertension or renal and heart issues.

Christine Corby OAM, CEO of the Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service, said this was "deeply concerning" given blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes are common health issues in the community.

"Unfortunately in our community there is a high incidence of chronic disease. I believe this is going to worsen given the very real risks we know are associated with high sodium intake," said Ms Corby.

But residents should soon see some relief, with water operators from the NSW government on the ground to support Walgett Council staff and oversee the transition back to river water over the next few days.

Member for Barwon Roy Butler joined minister Jackson for the community meeting on Friday and toured Walgett's water treatment plant as they prepared for the changeover to river water. He said he was confident the switch will be "seamless" and said it "should improve water quality".

"I will continue communicating with the water minister to ensure that Walgett and other communities have palatable water in which they can have some confidence," he said.

NSW Health has also carried out testing on water from the Namoi to confirm there were no pesticides from large-scale farming operations upstream present in the water. Regular testing will continue to be carried out through June to give residents "peace of mind" during the transition.

"I want to specifically make a shout out to the engineers and plant staff at Walgett Council and Department of Planning and Environment - Water who made this possible - these frontline workers keep our state working and we owe them so much," Minister Jackson said.

"I also want to thank the community for their patience and understanding while we perfect the treatment process. As we transition over to river water, we will be closely monitoring water quality and will immediately update the community if anything changes."

In line with calls from the community, the town's reverse osmosis plant will also be reinstated mid-year to address the salty taste if the bores are needed in the future.

"This is such great news. The residents of Walgett deserve to have access to clean, drinkable and palatable water like other communities around the state," Ms Jackson said.

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