The NSW Government said it has taken swift action to preserve water supply in Narrabri where two of the town’s three bores were found to be contaminated with PFAS*.
This will see $4 million spent to deliver new infrastructure, including $50,000 in emergency funding on a new pump for the town’s operating bore, with a long-term solution to be identified.
This came as Narrabri faces reduced reservoir levels, with local council introducing water restrictions last month.
A new portable water treatment plant is set to be up and running in a few months, treating water from Narrabri’s bores to support safe drinking water guidelines. The system will be based on Sydney Water’s Cascade water treatment plant in the Blue Mountains.
Long-term, the Narrabri Shire Council is looking at converting two new test bores at Salesyard and Logan Land into production bores.
“I was very clear that we would go the extra mile to help Narrabri respond to the PFAS issue and secure a more reliable water supply,” NSW Minister for Water Rose Jackson said.
“I recognise water restrictions have a big impact on residents, which is why we moved quickly to find a solution.
“We already put $50,000 on the table last month to fund a larger pump and now we are investing up to $4 million to get a mobile treatment plant up and running.”
In early November, the NSW Government announced it would be upgrading two pump stations and pipelines as part a new $20 million sewage treatment plant in Gilgandra, NSW.
The project will see a 60-year-old structure replaced with a new state-of-the-art plant that uses a high-tech activated sludge treatment system known as intermittent decanted extended aeration (IDEA).
IDEA treats sewage to a higher standard, improving effluent quality for better community and environmental outcomes.
*PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
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