Kingaroy drinking water ‘beyond a joke,’ residents lash out at council

Despite council advising residents the brown water coming out of their taps is safe to drink, locals are furious that the issue, which appears to pop up every few weeks, hasn’t been rectified.

Kingaroy water in March 2024.

Despite council advising residents the brown water coming out of their taps is safe to drink, locals are furious that the issue, which appears to pop up every few weeks, hasn’t been rectified.

After more reports of discoloured tap water, the South Burnett Regional Council released a statement and fact sheet on Friday advising residents they were seeing an increase in manganese which “resulted in changes to water aesthetics such as colour and taste.”

“An increase in water flow rate or swift change in direction of water flow in the pipes can stir up sediment.

“The sediment makes the water look discoloured but is harmless and safe to drink,” the fact sheet stated.

The fact sheet also advised residents to run their hose or tap for a few minutes to help clear out any discolouration or to contact council if it doesn’t clear.

Michelle Ball posted this photo of her bathtub in Kingaroy last week.

However, locals in South Burnett community groups on Facebook have overwhelmingly expressed outrage at the ongoing situation.

Bronwyn Marquardt said the town water makes her physically ill.

“Times are tough and I shouldn’t have to buy water for everything … it has been like this for years,” she said.

Julie Rankin said she has lived in many different regions in her life and the Kingaroy water is the worst she had seen.

“This has been an ongoing issue for the 18 months I have lived here,” she said.

“In my 60 or so years, I’ve never lived with water likes this and to be told it’s fit for drinking is the biggest joke of all,” Jen Macdonald said.

"This photo is not a weak cup of tea, it is straight out of the tap in Frangipani Drive Kingaroy," an anonymous person posted on Thursday.

Ainat Narni said the water issue is “beyond a joke” and said the best council could do is to refund residents for water in rates.

Although most of the reports of discolouration in water come from Kingaroy, Nanango residents have reported their water being “undrinkable.”

“Water in Nanango is white and tastes like a swimming pool, we buy 10 litre jugs of water every two days,” Nanango resident Paris Griffin said.

The South Burnett Regional Council said in their fact sheet corrosion of iron or copper pipes in the household plumbing can lead to a “metallic” taste.

Romana Rose posted a photo of tap water in the left bottle and store bought water in the right.

Burnett resident, Elissa Broadhurst, suggested some help from overseas.

“We need Erin Brockovich in our town to help us,” she said.

Erin Brockovich is an American paralegal and environmental activist who helped build a case against a major Californian company involving groundwater contamination in 1993.