Blue green algae no threat to town water supply: council

Gympie Regional Council has hosed down fears the recent detection of blue green algae at its Kinbombi water source threatened a repeat of 2019, in which an outbreak crippled the town’s water supply.

Gympie council infrastructure director Graham O'Byrne says Goomeri's town water remains safe to drink despite the discovery of blue green algae in two ponds at Kinbombi which have since been isolated from the water supply.

Gympie Regional Council is allaying fears of water contamination within Goomeri’s town supply following yet another blue green algae outbreak in the area.

Council infrastructure director Graham O’Byrne said the algae had been found in two ponds at Kinbombi but did not pose a risk to the town’s water services.

“When the blue-green algae was detected council isolated the source water, containing blue-green algae, from the water supply feeding Goomeri,” Mr O’Byrne said.

“Uncontaminated raw water is supplying the Goomeri plant.

“The town’s water is safe to drink.

Gympie council infrastructure services director Graham O’Byrne said the two dams where the algae was detected at Kinbombi had been isolated from the rest of the town’s supply.

“No extra precautions are needed,” Mr O‘Byrne said.

Goomeri’s water service was brought to its knees as a result of a blue green algae outbreak in 2019.

The contamination clogged the town treatment plant’s filters and forced its shutdown in May 2019 and forced the town to rely on bore water.

Things headed further south in August 2019 when the bores stopped working, forcing the council to truck water into the township from Murgon at a cost of about $1500 each day.

The treatment plant was finally brought back online in May 2020.

Mr O’Byrne said the algae was “a naturally occurring event triggered by climate conditions, usually during hotter weather”.

He ruled out any chance of history repeating as a result of this latest outbreak.

“The plant is continuing to operate normally during this event,” he said.

Originally published as Blue green algae no threat to town water supply: council