TESTS have revealed blue-green algae bacteria in Murrurundi’s dwindling water supply, but the council says it is still safe to drink.
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An Upper Hunter Shire Council spokesperson said on Friday that tests on Thursday had found blue-green algae at “level three” in Murrurundi Dam.
It was recently reported that the council was on the verge of carting water from Scone to Murrurundi after the town dam’s usable water supply fell to five per cent capacity.
An emergency bore installed last year has been supplying 70 per cent of the town’s needs, and the rest has come from the dam and the Pages River gallery.
Town water is still safe to drink as it is 70 per cent supplied from the emergency bore.
- Upper Hunter Shire Council
“Town water is still safe to drink as it is 70 per cent supplied from the emergency bore, and all water is filtered through the water treatment plant and tested again before reaching taps,” the council spokeswoman said on Friday.
The council said it conducted daily water tests, and weekly microbiological and algae-toxicity tests were analysed by the NSW State Laboratory and supplied to NSW Health.
The dam’s most recent level-three algae alerts were in mid-2018 and December 2016.
The council said that, if it was forced to cart water from Scone, the water would be stored in the town’s lagoon and reservoir rather than the dam, which loses 60,000 litres a day to evaporation.
Murrurundi has been on level-six water restrictions since last July.
Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
