Greenvale water not safe for human consumption
Greenvale’s water has been deemed unsafe by Queensland Health, and council is under pressure to fix the situation. Find out why an Asian country might foot the repair bill.
Townsville
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A remote NQ bush town is relying entirely on bottled water trucked in from Charters Towers after their tap water became ‘undrinkable’.
Greenvale is located three hours inland from Townsville and residents have spent the past four months relying on bottle water after Queensland Health raised the alarm over high levels of chlorates in the water.
Fixing the situation will be a multimillion-dollar exercise for the Charters Towers Regional Council, but it’s possible the Singaporean government will be footing the bill.
Mayor Frank Beveridge said it will take approximately six months to install a modified chlorination system and an extra $3m to $4m to fully fix the situation.
“Council has completed concept designs and is now undertaking a detailed design and construction program in conjunction with the ASMTI project,” Cr Beveridge said.
The Australian-Singapore Military Training Initiative (ASMTI) has been in the works since 2015 and involves constructing a 310,000 hectare training area for Singaporean soldiers outside Greenvale.
The Australian Defence Force confirmed fixing up Greenvale’s water and sewerage plants is part of the ASMTI deal.
“The development is subject to environmental approvals before construction can commence,” a spokesman said.
Defence failed to say when work would begin.
Construction on the ASMTI project was due to start last year, but hit significant delays due to environmental approvals.
A former mining town, Greenvale’s population hovers around 230.
Queensland Health directed Charters Towers Regional Council to notify residents their water was ‘non-potable’ and not fit for human consumption in early December.
Cr Beveridge said the Greenvale water supply is still drinkable by the National Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, which have a higher threshold for chlorates.
“However, Queensland Health has determined a more cautious approach and has lower acceptable thresholds,” Cr Beveridge said.
“Council is currently providing bottled drinking water to the community and will continue to do so until there is a viable alternative potable water supply.”
This service involves a truck running water bottles into Greenvale every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
A resident said the bottles are stored at the Joint Emergency Services building on Acacia Dr for locals to pick up.
Chlorates are a by-product of the drinking water disinfection process, forming when sodium and chlorine are used in the disinfection process.
Greenvale’s water is pumped direct from the Burdekin River.
Residents told the Townsville Bulletin water quality always drops during the wet season because of the churn in the Burdekin River muddying up the water.
One resident said the water gets so muddy and stained with red dirt, white clothes will come out of the washing machine brown and toilet bowls look constantly filthy.
Residents can still safely collect their own water through bores and rainwater tanks.
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