Yass water has been a problem for years, with some saying it's making them sick
The Yass Valley, located less than an hour from Australia's capital, faces a critical issue: its residents lack access to safe and reliable drinking water, a problem that has persisted for decades. The primary culprit is an ageing treatment plant. Despite this pressing need, the local council is allocating millions to upgrade its council chambers and library, a decision that has sparked frustration among community members. Courtney Barrett Peters covers this issue in her StateLine report, delving into the community's concerns and the council's priorities.
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00:00 Welcome to the Ass Valley.
00:10 We're an hour's drive from Canberra and we've got worse water than if you live in the Great
00:16 Artesian Basin.
00:17 Most people don't drink the town water and for 16 days this year were ordered not to,
00:23 unless they boiled it to make it safe enough to drink.
00:26 But some didn't get the message.
00:28 I was in hospital in Canberra for a hip operation.
00:32 When I came out back to here in Beinalong, I wasn't aware there was a water alert.
00:39 They didn't publicise it that well.
00:43 Garth Chisholm has lived in Beinalong for 25 years.
00:46 He's seen the town's water supply affected by both drought and flooding rains.
00:52 After about two or three days of being home I was so ill I couldn't keep anything down
00:57 for days.
00:58 I lost about 11 kilos in about a week.
01:04 Like many, Garth avoids using local water and mainly relies on rainwater tanks, but
01:09 couldn't reconnect to them during February's boil water alert.
01:13 They found that I had been affected by Aromona species bacteria, which the doctor explained
01:22 to me is usually caused by dirty water or brackish water.
01:27 He wasn't alone.
01:28 During this time, one local doctor says she saw an increase in patients with gastro-like
01:33 symptoms.
01:34 I would say that there's an uptick of about 15 to 20 per cent in terms of concerned patients
01:39 presenting to the medical practice with worries that say a new onset condition might relate
01:43 to the drinking water.
01:44 Most of the area's water problems begin with the ageing Yass water filtration plant, responsible
01:50 for servicing Yass, Beinalong, Bowning and Murrumbateman.
01:54 It hasn't been upgraded in almost 35 years.
01:58 Any time it rains heavily, the plant becomes overwhelmed.
02:01 It's very urgent because any extreme weather events can cause another boil water alert.
02:08 So people are very, very tired of this.
02:12 Both the Yass Valley Council and the New South Wales Government concede it's not acceptable,
02:18 and blame the inaction on limited funding.
02:20 I'm really sympathetic to the community in Yass about how long this has taken.
02:24 They've been dealing with this for decades.
02:26 I wish it was as easy as me just getting out there with a shovel or riding a bulldozer
02:30 and getting to work.
02:31 The Council and the State Government have committed around $17 million to fix the plant,
02:37 $20 million short of what's needed.
02:41 Last year, the Federal Government rejected an appeal to help fund the remainder.
02:45 It is true that Commonwealth funding required a final business case and that paperwork hadn't
02:51 been done.
02:52 The Council has since had to reapply.
02:54 Even if the Yass Valley Council's federal funding application is successful, it's unclear
02:59 if it will completely cover the balance needed to fix the aging water treatment plant, or
03:03 how long the urgent repairs will take.
03:06 If they're denied, the local council says they'll have to take out a loan and pass on
03:10 the cost to local residents by increasing their water rates.
03:13 Some residents say there's an easier solution.
03:16 They want the $50 million borrowed by the Council for their new chambers and library
03:20 to be redirected to fixing the plant.
03:23 But the Council says this loan can't be transferred.
03:27 Isn't having access to safe drinking water a human right?
03:30 Well, so is having public libraries.
03:33 I hope that it's a wake-up call for them to get funding and get the treatment plant and
03:42 everything done and get on with it because it desperately needs it.
03:47 A question of priorities in the face of a rising problem.
03:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]