Surat water plant malfunction: Regional town without drinkable tap water

The cause of a boil water alert for the regional Queensland town of Surat has been revealed, but it may not be lifted until after Christmas. DETAILS HERE.

The Maranoa Regional Council has said the boil water alert for Surat was expected to be in place for at least a few more days, as the South West Queensland town’s tap water quality still not up to Queensland Health requirements.

A council spokesman has assured residents that the water was slowly but surely clearing up, however Queensland Health required the water to be almost crystal clear before it’s deemed safe to drink.

While the council made no guarantees, a Christmas miracle hasn’t been ruled out yet. The boil water alert was put in place after an equipment failure in the water plant last week.

Original Story

The Maranoa Regional Council is urging Surat residents to boil their tap water before drinking it after a power fault at a water treatment plant in the region.

A council spokesman has advised that the tap water is currently cloudy due to clay particles which were not removed from the water after a fault in the water treatment plant.

A power point in the facility blew last week, resulting in the flocculant regulator failing. Flocculant is added to the water supply to remove minuscule clay particles which make the water cloudy. As well as making the water look murky, the clay particles mean the chlorine doesn’t work the way it should, which can allow for harmful bacteria to grow.

The spokesman said that while all of the technical issues in the plant were resolved, the cloudy water was still contaminating the reservoir.

Council is currently working to replace the cloudy water in the reservoir with clean water. The spokesman said it was a tedious task because the reservoir needed to maintain a high enough level at all times in case there was a fire.

Generic hot water / boiling water.

The boil water alert will stay in effect until Queensland Health was confident there was no longer a public health concern.

Free bottled water is available at Surat Library during opening hours.

Cooled boiled water or bottled water should be used for brushing teeth, washing or preparing food or beverages, preparing baby formula, making ice, or bathing infants.

Tap water can still be used for showering and bathing, washing dishes, washing clothes and flushing toilets.

The council spokesman acknowledged that the situation was a “pain,” but Queensland Health was doing their job.

Originally published as Surat water plant malfunction: Regional town without drinkable tap water