Anger bubbles over for Eagleby residents after complaints dirty stinky water linked to itchy rashes
A southside council is conducting urgent chemical testing after more than 40 people broke out in blotchy skin rashes after taking showers in ‘milky-coloured’ water. But authorities claim it’s still safe to drink.
Logan
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What’s in the water?
A southside council is investigating its water supply after more than 40 residents reported breaking out in blotchy skin rashes and hives after taking showers.
WATER MAIN BURSTS OVER LOGAN TRAFFIC
Hundreds of residents poured out their concern and anger at milky-coloured water coming out of their taps.
Others reported air bubbles in still water and strong smells of chemicals including chlorine.
Initially Logan City Council told panicked residents not to worry and keep drinking the “safe” water, which it said complied with Queensland Health guidelines.
“Logan Water is aware that water in the Eagleby area is discoloured and is working to rectify the situation,” the council said.
“Logan Water conducts regular checks of water quality across its system and will
continue to do so in this instance.”
Even though the council said the water was safe to drink, after a weekend of complaints, it said it would send officers to do additional tests to check the water was still meeting state government health standards.
The council said there were recent upgrades to the water network and a new pit installed last week.
“When this was recommissioned on Monday 17/08/2020 by the network operations team, it was flushed and tested,” the council said.
“It does appear that there has been some air trapped inside the water main which has caused the cloudiness appearance in the water.
“It is totally safe to drink and meets all Qld Health guideline standards.
“We are having crews to continue flushing in the area to limit the amount of air in the water main.
“We continually monitor and test the water by our laboratory as per Health Guidelines and if anything unusual at all showed up actions would be taken.
“We are currently doing additional testing on the water main to ensure it meets Health Guidelines.”
Mayor Darren Power said it was unlikely to be the fault of the council.
“There could be a number of reasons why this has happened, some of them not the council’s fault,” he said.
“I would suggest ringing the Logan council water department on 3412 3412 and they will test the water for you.”
It is the second major water contamination fear for Eagleby residents this year.
In May, the council was forced to investigate a property on Schmidt Rd and issued a local property owner environmental enforcement notices and launched an investigation into thick brown water surfacing along the road, about 1km from Eagleby Wetlands, a major bird haven.
In 2018, the council was forced to ask residents of Flagstone to boil their tap water before drinking it after an outbreak of E. coli, linked to faeces, was found in the local water supply.
Back then, the council and Queensland Health tested pipes and the water supply.
This time, it took Eagleby woman Sandra Pye and more than 25 others to phone the council about their dirty water, before any action and it was finally agreed water officers would test for chlorine at affected properties.
The Eagleby mum said her complaint to the council was initially ignored.
“I spoke to council about our water. They tried to fob me off. They may be sending someone out to check the water.
“The woman I spoke to does not believe that there is anything wrong with our water in Eagleby.
“If more people ring and complain then they said that they might be able to do something.
“She also said no one else has complained about Eagleby water.”
Since then, the floodgates have opened on the dirty water saga in Eagleby with more than 150 people airing their anger about contracting hives and itchy rashes after showering.
Another resident Melodie Winitana called on the council to test her water after said she contracted a form of dermatitis and a rash which looked like hives “crawling up my arm, super itchy all within the last couple days before and after showering”.
“Only the water seemed to trigger it again after being gone for months, the rash on my arm started within the last week.”
Another resident Lisa Simm said her water regularly came out of the tap white and it was affecting her child.
“Not to mention we can jump in our shower and it smells like a swimming pool,” she said.
“My child has now been getting regular rashes and we have done an elimination to see if it was anything else.
“When we went camping and were on tank water out there, his rash cleared up so I’d say that pinpoints the quality of the water in this suburb.”
Eagleby man Steve Spaderna warned residents not to jump to conclusions.
“There is nothing wrong with the water, it’s normal for water to be air bubbly when work has been done on the pipes, I’ve seen it in many places where I have lived,” he said.
But long-time resident Nate Hamon said the complaints were not about the aerated water but about what seemed to be a high concentration of chlorine or other chemicals causing severe reactions in people.
Anyone who is still having concerns can call the council to complain.