Quarterly Drinking Water Quality Report Warragamba Delivery System 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020 28 October 2020

Quarterly Drinking Water Quality Report | Warragamba Delivery System 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020 1

This report summarises a selection of health characteristics and Your water quality key aesthetic (look, taste and smell) characteristics. We take water samples from the catchments, at the inlet and outlet of Drinking water management water filtration plants, from the reservoirs and from about 720 We supply you with high quality, safe drinking water – managed under customers’ front garden taps. our drinking water quality management system. Our water is among the Our laboratories use internationally accredited methods for all our world’s best! testing. WaterNSW manages Sydney’s catchments to provide the best quality The tables in this report present water quality data from the analysis of water for us to treat. We treat your water by first filtering it, then water samples we collect at various stages of the water supply chain, disinfecting it. This is called the ‘multiple-barrier’ approach. We from raw water sources, through treatment to the water supplied to your continuously monitor these steps to ensure our systems are working as tap. expected.

During this quarter, our monitoring confirmed that the drinking water we delivered to you was safe and of high quality.

Testing for water quality Our aim is to provide you with high quality, safe drinking water treated to meet the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Our Drinking Water Quality Management System applies the frameworks to manage drinking water quality, and testing water quality is one part of this system. We test your water for up to 70 different characteristics including:

• taste • colour • odour • micro-organisms • chemical content.

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Our Drinking Water Quality We use a number of steps to ensure your tap Management System water is high quality and safe to drink. Daily performance results can be found on our The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines Framework for Management website. of Drinking Water Quality uses a preventive risk management approach that encompasses all the steps in water production from the catchment to the customer. Sydney Water works collaboratively with WaterNSW to ensure that the best possible water quality is supplied to our customers. Sydney Water and WaterNSW apply a multi-barrier approach to ensure the water supply is safe. Some of the steps or ‘barriers’ we use to manage water quality are:

• Protecting water catchments (e.g. lakes, rivers and reservoirs) • Selecting the best available source of water • Filtering the water at water filtration plants • Adding chlorine at our water filtration plants and in the network to ensure your water is free of harmful pathogens • Adding fluoride to support dental health. We monitor these different steps constantly at critical control points to ensure that your drinking water remains safe and of high quality. You can see current results for these points on our Daily Drinking Water Quality report. We monitor water quality to verify that these barriers are working. The results in the remainder of this report are considered ‘verification results’.

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Water quality test results The data we present here isn’t exhaustive but At your tap show the characteristics of water which we Most health guideline values for chemicals are based on a lifetime of regularly test for which the Australian Drinking exposure. The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines therefore recognise that occasionally there may be health or aesthetic related test Water Guidelines has set a health and/or results that fall outside the guideline values and that these results are aesthetic guideline value. not necessarily an immediate threat to health. For most characteristics, the guidelines do not require 100% of results to fall within the guideline values.

Sydney Water has a number of areas it delivers water to. We call these Delivery Systems. Our compliance to the guidelines is measured for each Delivery System and is calculated over a 12-month period using the following long-term performance measures:

• For the indicator bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli), at least 98% of scheduled samples must contain no E. coli. In addition to continuous online monitoring of filter performance, this verifies that our filtration and disinfection processes were effective in removing bacteria from the water initially and that the system used to deliver water to your tap remains clean. • For health-related chemical characteristics, the upper bound of the 95% confidence interval for the 95th percentile must be less than the guideline value. • For aesthetic characteristics, the upper bound of the 95% confidence interval for the mean must be less than the guideline value. The following tables show data for the customer supply systems that we use to measure Sydney Water’s performance against the long-term health and aesthetic guideline values. More data including typical ranges over a longer period can be found in the Safe Drinking Water and Water Analysis pages on the Sydney Water website.

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Table 1 Water Quality Health Characteristics for the Warragamba Delivery System Characteristic Unit of ADWG health No. of No. of Long-term % of test Met long- measure guideline samples exceptions performance results term value 1 Oct 2019 to measure complying performance 30 Sept 2020 (assessment over with the measure 12-month period) guideline

E. coli orgs/100 mL Should not be 108 0 At least 98% of 100% Yes detected in test results <1 100 mL sample fluoride mg/L 1.5* 165 0 At least 95% of 100% Yes test results 0.90 to 1.50 mg/L free chlorine mg/L 5 108 0 The 95th percentile value is less Yes than the respective ADWG health monochloramine mg/L 3 108 0 guideline value Yes antimony^ mg/L 0.003 8 0 Yes cadmium^ mg/L 0.002 8 0 Yes cyanide^ mg/L 0.08 2 0 Yes copper mg/L 2 28 0 Yes lead mg/L 0.01 28 0 Yes

nitrate as NO3 mg/L 50 28 0 Yes

nitrite as NO2 mg/L 3 28 0 Yes nickel^ mg/L 0.02 8 0 Yes sulfate^ mg/L 500 4 0 Yes chromium^ mg/L 0.05 (as 8 0 Yes CrVI)**

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Characteristic Unit of ADWG health No. of No. of Long-term % of test Met long- measure guideline samples exceptions performance results term value 1 Oct 2019 to measure complying performance 30 Sept 2020 (assessment over with the measure 12-month period) guideline manganese mg/L 0.5 120 0 Yes n-nitrosodimethylamine^ mg/L 0.0001 2 0 Yes total trihalomethanes mg/L 0.25 36 0 The 95th percentile statistic Yes calculated for combined customer supply system and WFP less than 0.25 mg/L

* The long-term fluoride performance for each delivery system in this table is based on customer tap data. We target a value of 1 mg/L. The ADWG specifies a guideline value for fluoride of <1.5 mg/L. The NSW Code of Practice for Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies sets a target that each year >95% of all routine fluoride samples (both treated water from WFPs and customer taps) fall within the concentration range of 0.90 to 1.50 mg/L. ** The ADWG sets a guideline value for hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) however Sydney Water measures total chromium which includes hexavalent chromium. ^ Insufficient data to calculate 95th percentile. Abbreviations: ADWG = Australian Drinking Water Guidelines; E. coli = Escherichia coli; mg/L = milligrams per litre; orgs/100 mL = organisms per 100 millilitres.

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Table 2 Water Quality Aesthetic Characteristics for the Warragamba Delivery System Characteristic Unit of ADWG aesthetic No. of samples Average Long-term performance measure Met long-term measure guideline value 1 Oct 2019 to result (assessment over 12-month period) performance 30 Sept 2020 measure iron mg/L 0.3 120 0.009 Average of test results less than Yes respective ADWG aesthetic guideline aluminium mg/L 0.2 28 0.007 value Yes manganese mg/L 0.1 120 0.001 Yes copper mg/L 1 28 0.024 Yes zinc mg/L 3 28 0.004 Yes ammonia as mg/L 0.50 28 <0.001 Yes NH3 turbidity NTU 5 108 0.09 Yes true colour HU 15 28 <2 Yes dissolved % greater than 85% 28 106.7 Yes oxygen saturation hardness mg/L 200 28 56.2 Yes (total) flavour rating* acceptable 1 3 Average rating of 1, 2 or 3 Yes odour rating* acceptable 1 3 Yes pH pH units between 6.5 - 8.5 108 7.8 Average of test results between Yes 6.5 - 8.5 pH units

*Rated by a panel on a scale from 1 to 5. Ratings of 1, 2 and 3 are generally acceptable to most people while ratings of 4 and 5 are generally not acceptable.  True colour is measured at 400 nm wavelength. Abbreviations: ADWG = Australian Drinking Water Guidelines; HU = Hazen Units; mg/L = milligrams per litre; NTU = nephelometric turbidity units

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We also test for a range of other water characteristics at your tap over Parameter Range (10th – 90th Units the course of the year. In Table 3 we’ve summarised the typical values Percentile) or for a range of characteristics for your area, note that these values are Average intended to provide an approximate guide, and that all compliance- related values are provided in Table 1 and Table 2. Disinfection by-products trihalomethanes 0.080 mg/L Table 3 Typical values for your area Inorganic chemicals Parameter Range (10th – 90th Units Percentile) or aluminium <0.005 - 0.010 mg/L Average ammonia (as NH3) <0.001 mg/L Physical Characteristics arsenic <0.0002 mg/L true colour <2 TCU or HU cadmium <0.0001 mg/L turbidity 0.06 - 0.14 NTU antimony <0.0003 mg/L total dissolved solids 143 - 186 mg/L calcium 10.4 - 14.1 mg/L pH 7.7 - 8.0 pH units chloride 34.0 - 36.0 mg/L conductivity 26.0 - 28.8 mS/m chromium 0.0002 - 0.0005 mg/L total hardness 48 - 65 mg CaCO3 /L copper 0.009 - 0.060 mg/L calcium hardness 27 - 31 mg CaCO3 /L cyanide <0.005 mg/L magnesium hardness 24 - 34 mg CaCO3 /L fluoride 1.00 mg/L alkalinity 54.3 - 64.2 mg CaCO3 /L iron <0.005 - 0.017 mg/L temperature 14.6 - 23.5 degrees C lead 0.0002 - 0.0007 mg/L dissolved oxygen 98.5 - 120.1 % saturation nickel 0.0004 - 0.0008 mg/L Disinfectants magnesium 5.16 - 7.41 mg/L free chlorine 0.88 mg/L manganese <0.0005 - 0.0020 mg/L monochloramine 0.12 mg/L mercury <0.00001 mg/L

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Parameter Range (10th – 90th Units Parameter Range (10th – 90th Units Percentile) or Percentile) or Average Average

nitrate (as NO3) 0.08 - 0.53 mg/L sulfate 10 - 11 mg/L

nitrite (as NO2) <0.001 mg/L zinc 0.002 - 0.007 mg/L phosphorous 0.005 mg/L Organic compounds potassium 2.45 - 3.05 mg/L chlorinated, polynuclear Not detected aromatic, aromatic mg/L reactive silica (as SiO2) 1.4 - 2.7 hydrocarbons mg/L selenium <0.0002 chlorophenols Not detected mg/L silver <0.0001 pesticides Not detected sodium 21.5 - 31.2 mg/L

At the treatment plant The water at your tap is treated at our Warragamba Water Filtration Plant. Results for key water quality characteristics which we test are We monitor the quality of the untreated water entering our filtration presented here for the Warragamba Water Filtration Plant. plants to understand how much treatment is needed and to verify the quality of treated water leaving the plant for a range of water quality characteristics. Results for key water quality characteristics which we test are presented here for the Warragamba Water Filtration Plant

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Table 4 Treated water quality characteristics at Warragamba Water Filtration Plant – quarterly results Quarterly - 1 July 2020 to 30 Sept 2020 Characteristics Unit of ADWG No. of Min Ave Max % of test complying with the measure samples guideline E. coli orgs/100 not detected 13 <1 <1 <1 100% mL in 100 mL turbidity NTU 5 13 0.06 0.08 0.10 100% true colour HU 15 13 <2 <2 2 100% pH pH units between 6.5 13 7.4 7.7 7.8 100% - 8.5 free chlorine mg/L 5 13 1.06 1.19 1.32 100% monochloramine mg/L 3 13 0.10 0.14 0.24 100% fluoride mg/L 1.5* 13 0.96 1.01 1.07 100% total trihalomethanes mg/L 0.25 3 0.108 0.116 0.132 100% acrylamide mg/L 0.0002 1 <0.0002 <0.0002 <0.0002 100% iron mg/L 0.3 13 <0.005 <0.005 0.017 100% aluminium mg/L 0.2 13 <0.005 <0.005 0.010 100% manganese mg/L 0.1 13 <0.0005 <0.0005 0.0020 100%

* The long-term fluoride performance for each delivery system in this table is based on customer tap data. We target a value of 1 mg/L. The ADWG specifies a guideline value for fluoride of <1.5 mg/L. The NSW Code of Practice for Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies sets a target that each year >95% of all routine fluoride samples (both treated water from WFPs and customer taps) fall within the concentration range of 0.90 to 1.50 mg/L.  True colour is measured at 400 nm wavelength. Abbreviations: ADWG = Australian Drinking Water Guidelines; Ave = average value; E. coli = Escherichia coli; HU = Hazen units; max = maximum value; mg/L = milligrams per litre; min = minimum value; NTU = nephelometric turbidity units; orgs/100 mL = organisms per 100 millilitres; NA=Not Applicable.

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Table 5 Treated water quality characteristics at Warragamba Water Filtration Plant – annual results Annual – 1 Oct 2019 to 30 Sept 2020 Characteristics Unit of ADWG No. of Min Ave Max % of test Meets long-term measure samples complying with performance the guideline measure E. coli orgs/100 not 51 <1 <1 <1 100% Yes mL detected in 100 mL turbidity NTU 5 51 <0.05 0.07 0.14 100% Yes true colour HU 15 51 <2 <2 3 100% Yes pH pH units between 6.5 51 7.4 7.6 7.8 100% Yes - 8.5 free chlorine mg/L 5 51 1.02 1.24 1.48 100% Yes monochloramine mg/L 3 51 0.08 0.14 0.24 100% Yes fluoride mg/L 1.5* 51 0.90 1.02 1.07 100% Yes total trihalomethanes mg/L 0.25 12 0.058 0.077 0.132 100% Yes n-nitrosodimethylamine mg/L 0.0001 2 <0.00001 <0.00001 <0.00001 100% Yes acrylamide mg/L 0.0002 1 <0.0002 <0.0002 <0.0002 100% Yes iron mg/L 0.3 51 <0.005 <0.005 0.028 100% Yes aluminium mg/L 0.2 51 <0.005 <0.005 0.010 100% Yes manganese mg/L 0.1 51 <0.0005 <0.0005 0.0090 100% Yes

* The long-term fluoride performance for each delivery system in this table is based on customer tap data. We target a value of 1 mg/L. The ADWG specifies a guideline value for fluoride of <1.5 mg/L. The NSW Code of Practice for Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies sets a target that each year >95% of all routine fluoride samples (both treated water from WFPs and customer taps) fall within the concentration range of 0.90 to 1.50 mg/L.  True colour is measured at 400 nm wavelength. Abbreviations: ADWG = Australian Drinking Water Guidelines; Ave = average value; E. coli = Escherichia coli; HU = Hazen Units; max = maximum value; mg/L = milligrams per litre; min = minimum value; NTU = nephelometric turbidity units; orgs/100 mL = organisms per 100 millilitres.

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Table 6 Untreated water quality characteristics at Warragamba Water Filtration Plant

Quarterly - 1 July 2020 to 30 Sept 2020 Annual – 1 Oct 2019 to 30 Sept 2020 Characteristics Unit of Raw Water No. of Min Ave Max No. of Min Ave Max measure Supply samples samples Agreement E. coli orgs/100mL NA 13 <1 <1 1 55 <1 <1 3 Cryptosporidium oocysts/10 L NA 40 <1 <1 <1 146 <1 <1 <1 Giardia cysts/10 L NA 40 <1 <1 <1 146 <1 <1 <1 turbidity NTU 40 13 2.66 4.29 5.76 55 0.73 2.86 8.55 true colour HU 60 13 12 15 21 55 3 8 21 pH pH units 6.3-7.9 13 7.2 7.3 7.6 55 7.0 7.4 8.6 iron mg/L 3.500 13 0.210 0.295 0.405 55 0.031 0.229 2.460 aluminium mg/L 2.600 13 0.117 0.234 0.332 55 0.022 0.108 0.332 manganese mg/L 1.400 13 0.006 0.030 0.078 55 0.002 0.039 0.270

 True colour is measured at 400 nm wavelength Note: The Raw Water Supply Agreement is an agreement between WaterNSW and Sydney Water about the water quality required Abbreviations: Ave = average value; E. coli = Escherichia coli; HU = Hazen Units; max = maximum value; mg/L = milligrams per litre; min = minimum value; NA = not applicable; NTU = nephelometric turbidity units; orgs/100 mL = organisms per 100 millilitres

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What else do we test for? Monitoring for additional chemicals may be done from time to time for investigative or other operational purposes but results are not shown We monitor for all the characteristics found in tables 6-10. If detected, here for one or more of the following reasons: results are below the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines value, wherever a guideline value exists. • because of the infrequency of monitoring • the lack of direct influence on drinking water quality A range of potential chemical contaminants (metals, organic chemicals and radionuclides) are monitored in the raw water at the inlet to each • no guideline values exist to compare test results to in order to water filtration plant. A few are also monitored in the treated water at assess risk. the plant outlet and at the customer tap. Risk assessments for these chemicals take into consideration the physical and chemical properties The following tables only show the ADWG health guideline of the various compounds and usage within the catchment areas. value, the analytical limit of detection, and the frequency of For most of these chemicals, more intensive monitoring was initially analysis for each chemical. Results are not shown because carried out to establish if they were likely to be present in the supply analysis is infrequent and the majority of these chemicals are and this historical data has been used along with the risk assessments only rarely detected and at very low levels. to determine the range of potential contaminants and the frequency of . analysis for the current monitoring program.

Table 7 Warragamba Delivery System – other characteristics Characteristic Analyte name ADWG Health/Aesthetic Detection limit Monitoring frequency* Most recent result complies with Guideline Value (mg/L) (mg/L) Australian Drinking Water Guideline Value Inorganic cyanogen chloride 0.08 0.004 2019-20, 1 sample per Yes chemicals delivery system chloride 250 0.10 2016-17, 2 samples Yes per delivery system sodium 180 0.05 2016-17, 2 samples Yes per delivery system hydrogen sulfide 0.05 0.002 2018-19, 2 samples Yes per delivery system

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Characteristic Analyte name ADWG Health/Aesthetic Detection limit Monitoring frequency* Most recent result complies with Guideline Value (mg/L) (mg/L) Australian Drinking Water Guideline Value Organic benzo-(a)-pyrene 0.00001 0.00001 2016-17, 2 samples Yes chemicals per delivery system di(2-ethylhexly) 0.01 0.01 2017-18, 1 sample per Yes phthalate (DEHP) delivery system toluene 0.8 0.0003 2018-19, 1 sample per Yes delivery system xylene 0.6 0.0004 2017-18, 1 sample per Yes delivery system Chloroacetic chloroacetic acid 0.15 0.001 2018-19, 1 sample per Yes acids delivery system dichloroacetic acid 0.1 0.001 Yes trichloroacetic acid 0.1 0.001 Yes chlorophenols 2-chlorophenol 0.3 0.0001 2018-19, 1 sample per Yes delivery system 2,4-dichlorophenol 0.2 0.0001 Yes 2,4,6-trichlorophenol 0.02 0.0001 Yes

mg/L = milligrams per litre * Monitored on a five-yearly rotational basis – year indicates most recent test performed

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Table 8 Treated water at Warragamba Water Filtration Plant – other characteristics Characteristic Analyte name ADWG Health Detection limit Monitoring frequency – Most recent result complies with Guideline Value (mg/L) Warragamba Water Filtration Australian Drinking Water Guideline (mg/L) Plant Value

Inorganic antimony 0.003 0.0003 NA1 Yes chemicals cadmium 0.002 0.0001 NA1 Yes copper 2 0.0005 NA1 Yes chromium (as 0.05 0.0002 NA1 Yes Cr(VI)) cyanide 0.08 0.005 NA1 Yes lead 0.01 0.0001 NA1 Yes nickel 0.02 0.0002 NA1 Yes sulfate 500 0.10 quarterly Yes Organic acrylamide 0.0002 0.0001 5-yearly2 Yes chemicals carbon 0.003 0.0003 5-yearly3 Yes tetrachloride toluene 0.8 0.0003 NA4 Yes xylene 0.6 0.0004 NA4 Yes NA = Not Applicable; mg/L = milligrams per litre; ADWG = Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 1 Monitored monthly/quarterly in the customer supply systems rather than in the treated water from the WFP. 2 Monitored on a 5-year rotational basis. Last sampled in 2015-16, sampled in 2020-21, 1 sample for each WFP in each quarter. 3 Monitored on a 5-year rotational basis. Last sampled for each WFP in each quarter during 2016-17. 4 Monitored on a 5-year rotational basis in the customer supply system rather than in the treated water from the WFP.

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Table 9 Untreated water– other characteristics Characteristic Analyte name ADWG Health Guideline Detection limit Monitoring frequency – Warragamba Value (mg/L) (mg/L) Water Filtration Plant Inorganic antimony 0.003 0.0003 NA chemicals arsenic 0.01 0.0002 quarterly barium 2 0.0005 quarterly boron 4 0.02 quarterly cadmium 0.002 0.0001 NA iodide 0.5 0.005 yearly mercury 0.001 0.00001 quarterly molybdenum 0.05 0.0001 quarterly selenium 0.01 0.0002 quarterly silver 0.1 0.0001 yearly Organic acrylamide 0.0002 0.0001 NA chemicals benzene 0.001 0.0003 monthly1 1,2-dichlorobenzene 1.5 0.0003 NA 1,4-dichlorobenzene 0.04 0.0005 NA 1,2-dichloroethane 0.003 0.0003 monthly1 1,1-dichloroethene 0.03 0.0003 NA 1,2-dichloroethene 0.06 0.0003 monthly1 dichloromethane (methylene 0.004 0.0003 NA chloride) ethylbenzene 0.3 0.0003 NA ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid 0.25 0.02 NA (EDTA)

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Characteristic Analyte name ADWG Health Guideline Detection limit Monitoring frequency – Warragamba Value (mg/L) (mg/L) Water Filtration Plant hexachlorobutadiene 0.0007 0.0003 monthly1 nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) 0.2 0.02 NA styrene (vinylbenzene) 0.003 0.0004 NA trichlorobenzenes (total) 0.03 0.0003 NA vinyl chloride 0.0003 0.0003 monthly1 xylene 0.6 0.0004 NA NA = Not Applicable; mg/L = milligrams per litre; ADWG = Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 1 Collected monthly but sampling frequency may be reviewed.

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Table 10 Untreated water – pesticides and herbicides Characteristic Analyte name ADWG Health Detection limit (mg/L) Monitoring frequency – Warragamba Water Filtration Plant Guideline Value (mg/L)

Pesticides / aldrin 0.0003 0.00001 NA Herbicides amitrole 0.009 0.001 yearly1 atrazine 0.02 0.000025 yearly1 chlordane 0.002 0.00001 NA chlorpyrifos 0.01 0.001 monthly 2,4-D 0.03 0.0001 monthly DDT 0.009 0.00001 NA diazinon 0.004 0.000025 monthly dicamba 0.1 0.0001 NA dieldrin 0.0003 0.00001 NA dimethoate 0.007 0.000025 NA diquat 0.007 0.0001 yearly1 diuron 0.02 0.01 yearly1 endosulfan 0.02 0.00001 NA glyphosate 1 0.0005 monthly heptachlor 0.0003 0.00001 yearly1 hexazinone 0.4 0.002 yearly1 lindane 0.01 0.00001 NA methoxychlor 0.3 0.000002 NA metsulfuron-methyl 0.04 0.0001 NA

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Characteristic Analyte name ADWG Health Detection limit (mg/L) Monitoring frequency – Warragamba Water Filtration Plant Guideline Value (mg/L)

molinate 0.004 0.000025 NA paraquat 0.02 0.0005 NA 2,4,5-T 0.1 0.0001 yearly1 triclopyr 0.02 0.0001 monthly

NA = Not Applicable; mg/L = milligrams per litre; ADWG = Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 1 Additional samples collected following heavy rain.

Table 11 Untreated water– radionuclides Characteristic Analyte name ADWG Health Guideline Value Detection limit Monitoring frequency – Warragamba Water Filtration (Bq/L) (Bq/L) Plant

Radiological gross alpha NA1 0.02 yearly gross beta NA1 0.01 yearly total 0.5 0.02 NA radionuclides

NA = Not Applicable. ADWG = Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 1 The sum of gross alpha and gross beta (total radionuclides) should not exceed 0.5 Bq/L (becquerels per litre).

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Water in the catchments We report some information about water quality in WaterNSW’s For more information about quantities of water catchments. Water in your area is sourced from Lake Burragorang in the catchment areas, please visit the at Warragamba Dam. WaterNSW website. Information about untreated water in these catchments is provided below.

Table 12 Lake Burragorang, 500 metres upstream of the dam wall, quarterly results Quarterly Results – 1 July 2020 to 30 Sept 2020 Characteristics Unit of measure WaterNSW No. of Min Ave Max Reference levels* samples Microbiological E. coli orgs/100 mL NA 70 <1 1 17 Cryptosporidium oocysts/10 L NA 25 <1 2 11 Giardia cysts/10 L NA 25 <1 <1 3 Physical / chemical turbidity NTU NA 56 0.34 4.13 9.61 true colour HU NA 20 6 18 21 chlorophyll - a μg/L 2-10 42 0.4 1.7 11.8 iron mg/L <1 72 0.140 0.383 1.260 aluminium mg/L <0.1 70 0.040 0.362 2.030 manganese mg/L 0.5 72 0.002 0.076 0.826

 True colour is measured at 400 nm wavelength * Australian Drinking Water Guidelines for fresh and Marine Waters, ANZECC,2000. Abbreviations: Ave = average value; E. coli = Escherichia coli; HU = Hazen Units; max = maximum value; mg/L = milligrams per litre; min = minimum value; NTU = nephelometric turbidity units; orgs/100 mL = organisms per 100 millilitres; cysts/10 L = Giardia cysts per 10 litres; oocysts/10 L = Cryptosporidium oocysts per 10 L; NA=Not Applicable.

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Table 13 Lake Burragorang, 500 metres upstream of the dam wall, annual results Annual Results – 1 Oct 2019 to 30 Sept 2020 Characteristics Unit of measure WaterNSW No. of Min Ave Max Reference levels* samples Microbiological E. coli orgs/100 mL NA 268 <1 1 17 Cryptosporidium oocysts/10 L NA 171 <1 <1 11 Giardia cysts/10 L NA 171 <1 <1 4 Physical / chemical turbidity NTU NA 130 0.60 7.59 32.70 true colour HU NA 218 4 12 34 chlorophyll - a μg/L 2-10 178 0.5 3.1 25.2 iron mg/L <1 270 <0.010 0.195 1.260 aluminium mg/L <0.1 268 <0.010 0.179 2.030 manganese mg/L 0.5 270 <0.001 0.039 0.826

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(https://twitter.com/DOHHillsborough/status/1279184455769473024). Review of drinking water literature The Florida Health Department noted how rare this infection is. Although no information was released about the source of the infection, the Florida Health’s press release recommended swimmers can protect themselves by avoiding nasal contact with water, indicating the likely source was swimming in contaminated water. Every quarter, we review a topic from the latest water quality research from around the world. Our review As part of our ongoing reviews of risks to Sydney’s drinking water carried out by Sydney Water, WaterNSW, and overseen by NSW Health, we have recently completed a screening risk assessment of the Risk associated with opportunistic pathogen Naegleria risk posed by Naegleria fowleri. The Australian Drinking Water fowleri in drinking water Guidelines (ADWG) (NHMRC, NRMMC 2011) describe two main risk factors for Naegleria fowleri. The first is ‘… any water supply that seasonally exceeds 30°C or that continually exceeds 25°C can support the growth of N. fowleri’. Expert advice to Sydney Water was that the Low current risk confirmed for the opportunistic pathogen Naegleria accepted interpretation of seasonal exceedance would be for a fowleri in Sydney’s drinking water. minimum of three months. The second risk factor is described as low levels of disinfectant (chlorine) during the warmer months. As we noted In 2019 Sydney Water assessed the risk from a group of in our review in early 2019, since these two risk criteria have been microorganisms known as ‘opportunistic pathogens’. These incorporated into our national guidelines and public water supplies microorganisms occur naturally in the environment and can be found in managed accordingly, there have been no known cases of Naegleria both water and soil. Under favourable conditions they may survive in fowleri associated with public drinking water supplies in Australia. small numbers on the insides of pipes. One of these pathogens is Naegleria fowleri, which can cause a rare but often fatal brain infection The risk posed from Naegleria fowleri is negligible called primary amoebic encephalitis (PAM). Infection can occur when Every year Sydney Water takes over 8,000 samples from the front yard contaminated water is forced into the nasal cavity, through activities taps of customers to test for water quality against the requirements of such as jumping into a water body or poorly disinfected pool, by the ADWG. We reviewed over 25,000 records of water temperature children playing with hoses or under sprinklers, or through the use of taken between 2009 and early 2020. We focused the analysis on the nasal devices such as neti pots. You cannot get infected by swallowing summer months and in areas likely to have the highest water water containing Naegleria. Naegleria fowleri is sensitive to chlorine, so temperatures. The results showed the tap water temperature only cannot survive in water that is cool and adequately disinfected (Centers exceeded 25°C during the peak summer months and only five unrelated for Disease Control, USA, 2018). samples over the ten-year period were above 30°C. There was also no

clearly discernable trend to warmer tap water over this period. Naegleria fowleri was in the news in July 2020 when a rare case of infection was reported in Hillsborough County, Florida, during their summer

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Sydney Water has targets for chlorine levels in tap water set in Reference/Sources agreement with NSW Health that further support meeting the ADWG risk management guidance for Naegleria fowleri. The current analysis showed there is a low risk for any part of the system having a Centers for Disease Control, 2018, Parasites – Naegleria fowleri – combination of elevated water temperature and low levels of general information available at: disinfectant. It was concluded that the risk posed from Naegleria fowleri https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/naegleria/general.html is negligible. NHMRC, NRMMC (2011; version 3.5 May 2019) Australian Drinking Sydney Water will continue to review these risk factors, particularly in Water Guidelines Paper 6 National Water Quality Management light of the warming climate and examine trends in changing water Strategy. National Health and Medical Research Council, National temperature combined with falls in disinfectant level, to ensure the Resource Management Ministerial Council, Commonwealth of safety of our drinking water. Australia, Canberra

Further information can be found on the NSW Health website at: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/water/Pages/Naegleria- utilities.aspx

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If you have any questions or concerns about your water quality or the information in this report, please get in contact at our website or by calling 13 20 90. sydneywater.com.au

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