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July 1994

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Department of I-Iealth and Community Services

I l I ~- ~ l RURAL DRINKING WATER QUALITY

SUMMARY REPORT

Working Group on Drinking Water Quality

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Department of Health and Community Services

JULY 1994 Foreword

In October 1993 the Government announced its overall objectives for reforming Victoria's water industry. Thest; were published in the report entitled Reforming Victoria's Water Industry: a Competitive Future - Water.

In that report the Government stated its intention to form three "health and_environment" related working groups, namely

• rural drinking water quality; • effluent standards; and • litter in waterways.

These working groups were subsequently formed and this report summarises the findings of the working group on rural drinking water quality. A more detailed report containing all of the monitoring results for the individual supplies is being prepared for wide public distribution.

While this summary report shows that many supplies still fail to meet the guidelines for bacteriological quality, there does not appear to be any great groundswell of public opinion demanding better bacteriological quality.

This is not surprising when one considers that bacteriological contamination is invisible, without any tell-tale smell or taste. Unless the water is tested and the results are published, people have no way of telling if the water they are· receiving is safe to drink. The information in this report, therefore, should provide .a useful benchmark for measuring the performance of water authorities in the critically important area of drinking water quality.

The Government is keen to ensure that water authorities provide services that meet community expectations and protect public health. I commend the initiatives proposed in this report by the working group.

Geoff Coleman, MP Minister for Natural Resources Acknowledgments

This review of Victoria's rural drinking water quality was a joint project between the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (CNR} and the Department of Health and· Cornmunity Services (H&CS). David Heeps ICNRJ and Dr Graham Rouch IH&CS) formed the Reference Panel for the working group and provided valuable advice and ·assistance.

The working group wishes to thank the staff of the State Water Laboratory for the collection and collation of the water quality data, water authorities and local government authorities for supplying data on the local water systems, and Stan Ashley (CNR).and Derek Lightbody (H&CS) who analysed ~uch of the data. ·

Working Group

Warren Wealands (team leader), CNR Ross Perry, CNR Martyn Kirk, H&CS Contents

1 . INTRODUCTION ...... 1 2. OBJECTIVE ...... ,...... 1 3 . DATA AVAILABILITY...... 1 4 . WATER SUPPLY AUTHOR ITIES ...... 1 5. CURRENT GUIDELINES ...... 2 6. REGULATIONS ...... 2 7. REVIEW OF PAST PERFORMANCE ... ;...... 3 7. 1 Bacteriological Quality ...... 3 7.1.1. Overall results ...... :...... 3 7. i .2 Results for large water authorities ...... 5 7 .1 .3 Results for other water authorities ...... 6 7 .1 .4. Results for RWC towns/supply zones ...... 7 7 .1 .5. Local government supplies ...... 7 7 .1 .6 Supplies with food processing industries ...... 7 7.2 Physical/Chemical Quality ...... 8 7. 2 .1 Aesthetic parameters ...... , ...... 8 7. 2 . 2 Chemicals of health significance ...... 9 7. 2 .3 Disinfection by-products ...... 10 .7.2.4 Fluoridation ...... , ...... 10 8. SMALL TOWNS DILEMMA ...... 10 8.1 Non-Potable Supplies ...... 11 8.2 Special Funding Program for Small Towns ...... 12 9. ACCOUNTABILITY -· ········ ·· ····...... 13 10. GUIDELINES OR STANDARDS ...... 14 10.1 Community Involvement ...... 15 11 . RECOMMENDATIONS...... 16 1 . .Guidelines ...... 1 6 2. Targeted Improvements ...... 16 3. Non-Potable Supplies...... 17 4. Accountability ...... 17

Appendix 1: Bacteriological Quality, Victorian Non-Metropolitan Water Supplies...... A 1 Appendix 2: Bacteriological Results 1992/93, Fully Treated Water Supplies ...... A9 Appendix 3: Town/Supply Zones Not Tested 1992/93 ...... A 12 Appendix 4: New Disinfection and Treatment Works Commissioned July 1989 to June 1993 ...... A 13 Appendix 5: Towns Supplied by Rural Water Corporation 1992/93 ...... A 14 Appendix 6: Water Supplies Controlled Under Local Government Act ...... A 16 Appendix 7: Water Authorities Supplying Food Processing Industries ...... A 17 Append ix 8: Sele.cted Physical/Chemical Results - Aesthetic Parameters 1991 - 93 ...... A 1 8 Appendix 9: Selected Phys/Chern Results • Parameters of Health Significance 1991 - 93 ...... A 19 Appendix 10 : Wate_r Supplies with an average Aluminium Concentration exceeding Twice the Guideline Value (0.2 mg/L) in l991-93 ...... A20 Appendix 11: Comparison of Water Quality Guidelines - WHO and NHMRC ...... A21 1. INTRODUCTION

The Government recently reviewed Victoria's water authorities and was very concerned at the poor quality of water supplied to rural consumers. In its report Reforming Victoria's Water Industry: a Competitive Future - Water the Government announced that it would establish a working group to report on rural drinking water quality (as well as sewage effluent disposal and litter) by early 1 S94. This report sets out the findings o·f the review of rural drinking water quality.

2. OBJECTIVE

The overall objective was to "... review current performance and develop a strategy for upgrading the quality of rural drinking water supplies". A small working group from the Catchment and Land Management Division of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (CNR) and the Public Health Branch of the Department of Health and Community Services fH&CS) undertook the review. It is proposed that subsequent studies will cover metropolitan supplies and address other aspects of the strategy including guidelines for assessing statewide performance.

3. DATA AVAILABILITY

Little information Oi'l water quality was available from rural water authority annual reports. Apart from being incomplete the information was not in a format which allowed ready ar.alysis and comparison.

Comprehensive data on monitoring results for 1988/89 to 1992/93 were obtained from the State Water Laboratory. This was supplemented with data obtained by questionnaire directly from the water authorities, including information on sources of water, potential for catchment contamination, water treatment, peak holiday population (tourist towns), major water users (industries), uses of water, and steps being taken to improve Quality. All information is now stored in a database at CNR.

In this report the data used are as follows: Bacteriological Quality 1992/93 Physical/Chemical Quality Average of results for the period 1991 to 1993.

4. WATER SUPPLY AUTHORITIES

Under the Water Act 1989 reticulated water is supplied to 1,061,545 persons in rural Victoria by 102 authorities through 419 towns/supply zones {see Table 1).

Authority Type Number of Towns/ Population Population Authoritie.s Supply Zones Served Served %

Water Boards 58 207 436,060 41.1 " Municipal Councils 37 108 236,790 22.3 Rural Water Corp. Regions 4 56 21,240 2.0 Large Water Authorities 3 48 367,455 34.6 Totals 102 419 1,061,545 100

Table 1. Number and size of Victorian urban drinking water supply authorities (1992/93} It should be noted that mergers since 1992/93 have slightly reduced the number of authorities now existing.

The large water authorities group is made up of the three authorities supplying the Ballarat, ( Bendigo and Geelong areas and include towns merged under their management as at 30 June 1993. They account for 34.6% of rural consumers. Fifty-eight water boards (separate authorities) and 37 municipal councils constituted under the Water Act supply 63.4% of the population. The remaining 2% are supplied by four Rural Water Corporation Regions.

Most of the water used is collected from surface sources - the balance comes from bores.

Surface water in developed catchments is subject to contamination from various sources, including soil erosion, urban sewage effluent and drainage, and industrial, agricultural and forestry activity. Supplies drawn from such sources need to be treated to produce good quality water that is safe to drink. Water from shallow bores can be affected by seepage from septic tanks.

5. CURRENT GUIDELINES

Supplies in rural Victoria are measured against the World Health Organization (WHO) 1984 guidelines. Melbourne's water is measured against the Australian National Health and MedicalResearch Council (NHMRC) guidelines which were published in 1987. The NHMRC guidelines make allowances for the extra level of protection in drawing raw water from c!osed catchments, such as those which Melbourne is fortunate to have.

The WHO guidelines were updated in 1993. The N~MRC guidelines have been reviewed and are expected to be released for public comment prior to finalisation (as required by Federal health legislation) in June 1994.

Both new sets of guidelines include a number of changes - some are more and others less stringent than before. Significant additional costs could be incurred, possibly without substantially reduced risks of illness or other benefits, if the revised guidelines were adopted.

For the purpose of this review the data is analysed against the WHO 1984 guidelines which were current during the period up to and including 1992/93.

6. REGULA TlONS

The Water Act does not specify any particular quality for urban drinking water supplies. However, water authorities constituted to provide urban water supplies are expected to supply water. that is safe to drink and meets the needs of their consumers.

The Health Act 1958 does not specify any particular standard but provides for action to be taken where a supply may present a threat to health. In particular, the Health (Quality of Drinking Water) Regulations 1991 require authorities, amongst other things, to regularly take and test samples of water, at least one sample per month. Authorities must notify H&CS if any water is suspected as being a possible source of waterborne disease. In such cases the Chief General Manager of H&CS may direct an authority to treat water to a specified standard.

Section 166 of the Water Act indemnifies authorities against liability arising from the trea.t~ent of water (including the addition of chlorine and fluoride). The need for this level ·Of protEfction should be reviewed. It could tend to discourage authorities from taking proper care and giving attention to this very important aspect of their business.

2 7. REVIEW OF PAST PERFORMANCE

7. 1 Bacteriological Quality

The most frequent concem (from a public health perspective) about drinkini water is its bacteriological quality.

All water supplies which are available for drinking should be free of pathogens (organisms which can cause disease including certain types of bacteria, viruses, protozoa and other organisms). If the water contains pathogens, diseases can be spread and cause severe illness in both the local and the wider community.

The situation in Peru is a recent example of what can happen when a supply is not adequately disinfected. In January 1991 contamination of the water supply to the city of Lima resulted in a significant epidemic of cholera which spread to other parts of South America. Over the next 12 months 533,000 people became seriously ill and more than 4700 people died.

Another example is the Milwaukee (USA) case of 1993 where a change in the operation of the water treatment plant (combined with upstream sewage discharges and runoff from agricultural lands during a storm event) allowed the protozoan cyst Cryptosporidium to pass through the filtration plant and cause severe illness to over 400,000 persons. The city has now received more than 1400 claims seeking some US$25m in damages.

As it is not practicable to test for individual pathogens, all health authorities throughout the world rely on tests for coliforms1 which indicate that pathogens may be present. The WHO and NHMRC both recommend that all routine samples should contain no •faecal coliforms" and that 95% of samples should be free of "total coliforms".

Although not strictly in accordance with the W.t:l.Q.( 1984) guidelines it has been the practice for rural drinking water supplies in Victoria to be regarded by the regulatory authorities as meeting the guidelines if 95% of samples have no E. coli.and no coliforms in any sample. This allows for one sample in 20 to fail. However, the Health (Quality of Drinking Water) Regulations require small water authorities to take at least one sample per month for all populations up to 2000 persons (more samples per month are required for larger systems), so if one of the twelve fails, the maximum result which could be reported is 92%. In this report the bacteriological results have been examined in groups of 0-10%, 11-49%, 50- 89%, and 90-100% (see Appendix 1). For the purposes of this report, water in the 90- 1 00% category is deemed to be of acceptable quality for rural drinking water supplies.

7. 1 . 1 . Overall results

While authorities have invested some $80m on water quality improvement works over the last five years (see Figure 1), some 81 % of rural consumers now receive water that has been disinfected (see Figure 2) and 59% have fully treated water (see Figure 3), it is disappointing to report that there h~s been only a 10% improvement in bacteriological quality (from 22 % of the population receiving satisfactory quality in 1988/89 to 32 % in 1992/93}. There is still some 68% of rural consumers that receive water that does not meet the guidelines (see Figure 4).

1 Coliforms llre bacteria which are always present in large numbers in faeces. They can be readily detected by standard microbiological tests. Tests for coliforms are usually mado to detect both faecal coliforms end total coliforms. Faecal coli forms are almost entirely of faecal origin, end es such, are indicators of recent contamination. E. coll make up the majority of faecal coliforms and ere definite indicators of faecal contamination. Teets for total coliforms will include other coliforms which may occur naturally in the environment. Faeces contain large numbers of faecal coliforms and other coliforms. As other coliforms live longer then faecal coliforms outside the body of worm blood ad animals, their presence in higher then background numbers would indicate that the water may have been fsacally contaminated some time before.

3 TOTAL CAPlTAL EXPENDITURE DISINFECTION Water Quality Improvement Wor1

Figure 1 Total capital expenditure by non­ Figure 2 Population receiving disinfected m etropolitan water authorities on water water quality improvement works

FULLY TREATED WATER BACTERIOLOGICAL QUALITY Per cent Population receiving FuHy Treated Water Wa!efwllh mont lhan 90% 0 collforms and OE. coll 100..------. 100 ..------,

80

ft~~ S8.9 59.2 ,.....- eo ~! '-- iD.. - I- ...... 40 '>C. ,_ - i 40 1------...,....u•---...... ---;2 i ~. 3 ,...... -- ~, _ - ,_ - l5 281 28.9 .---L.....l"_JZ._'\...-1 i ,_ ,_ 21.7 D.. 20 - ~ - - - ,_ I- - I- l ·- - ._ - 0 20R·0 .. ·... .. ~ ·.;. ··· .....'!' ' 1988189 196Q90 1990r'91 19911112 11192/93 19931114 \1188189 19611/9() 1991W1 \11$1192 1992193 . Financial Years (•pe<:llld) Financial Years

Figure 3 Population receiving fully treated Figure 4 Per cent of rural population supplied water with water of satisfactory bacteriological quality

The dip in the results for 1 992/93 (Figure 4) is mostly due to some better than ex.pected results being obtained in the previous year.

Although some 59% of the population has fully treated water (including filtration and disinfection) only 43.9% of these people (see Appendix 2) received water at the tap which had satisfactory bacteriological quality. This is a very poor result. As most treatment plants produced water which met the guidelines for bacteriological quality at the point of water entering the distribution system, the deterioration in water quality appears to occur in the distribution system. This could be due to a number of factors including:

no disinfection (e.g. the supplies at Morwell, Churchill, Hazelwood North and Yinnar); unsuitable or poorly maintained disinfection equipment; open water storages (elevated tanks, standpipes, service basins); bacterial growths within the system; inadequate cleaning of water mains; and inadequate training of maintenance staff.

4 The results in Appendix 2 indicate that while the treatment and disinfection works may be technically sound the management of the water in the reticulation system is in many cases unsatisfactory. The working group believes that the application of j'otal _Quality Management (TOM) principles by authorities (as set out in Australian Standard AS 3900) would minimise the opportunity for water quality to deteriorate in the distribution system.

, In the past some of the smaller· authorities have refused to send their operators to attend training courses at the Werribee Water Training Centre, mainly because of the costs.

Proper training is essential. It will help to avoid mistakes (by the operator knowing exactly what he/she is doing) and it can result in substantial cost savings (one operator has saved his authority $10,000 per annum in the cost of chemicals by applying his after-training knowledge to his job) and safety in the use of chemicals. TOM and training in the maintenance of water quality in the distribution system would allow the best results to be achieved from the existing assets. It is given a high priority by well managed authorities.

The working group also found that water supplies serving 31 small towns (total population 4900), controlled by 11 authorities, are not tested for their bacteriological quality. This seemed to be· mainly due to the cost of testing and the belief that the water was not used for drinking. The largest of the untested towns is Dunolly (see Appendix 3).

7. 1.2 Results for large water authorities

Figure 5 shows the results of bacteriological monitoring for both the large water authorities and the other water authorities.

In 1992/93 only 7 :5% of the population supplied from the Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong systems (27,600 persons) received water of acceptable bacteriological quality. This. however, does not reflect improved water quality since June 1993 due to recent works. If all of these larger water authorities were to achieve 90% compliance, the overall statewide result would increase from 32% to 65%. Continued improvement in these large systems should be a priority of the strategy.

BACTERIOLOGICAL QUALITY 1992/93 Rural Drinking Water Supplies

315.010 ~ Other Water Authorities (;') 300 CD 0 Large Water Authorities 0 0 ....;:. 5 200 1------:;::i m "S Q. 0 ll.. 100 1------,=...-I

.C,900 0 .__...... ,....,;i:i;ut...,__ _ Not Tested Oto 10% 11 to 49% 50 to 89% 90 to 100% Per cent of samples having o colifoons and OE. coll

Figure 5 Results of bacteriological monitoring ....; large and other authorities

5 Each of these authorities has a water quality improvement program in place. A summary of the main elements of these programs follows.

(a) Ballarat

During 1993 the remaining 60% of the Ballarat system was disinfected. The authority has also converted the existing chlorination works at Lal Lal 'to chloramination~ As· a result of these works the Ballarat area is now receiving water that meets the guidelines for bacteriological quality. The authority is now investigating t,he full treatment of Ballarat'. s w~t~r SUPP.IY. . Other proposed works included in the authority's Business Plan for the period up to 1997/98 include treatment of .the Lexton and Amphitheatre supplies and roofing the Daylesford service basins.

(bl Bendigo

The Coliban Region Water Authority is currently implementing a program ·of water quality improvement works in a number of its districts. Since the authority' s formation in July 1992 it has provided water treatment to Axedale, Goornong, Malmsbury and Raywood. Consideration is now being·given to treating the water supplies to Sebastian and Trentham.

A number of water quality improvement projects have recently been completed or are scheduled to be undertaken in the Authority's Bendigo district before 1995/96. These include chlorinator installation and upgrades at a number of storages, aeration of storages, screen upgrades, provision of detention tanks and fencing of storages. However, full compliance will probably O".\IY be achieved if the water is fully treated to reduce colour and turbidity. Caliban Region Water Authority is considering the option of water treatment for Bendigo. The estimated capital cost in 1992 was $80m.

(c) Geelong

A large water treatment plant was constructed at Wurdee Boluc in 1 992 to treat about 80% of Geelong's water (from the Barwon system) at a capital cost of $25m. This has resulted in a significant improvement in bacteriological quality. A treatment plant at Meredith was completed in September 1993. This plant uses a state-of-the-art membrane filtration system. Treatment plants for the remaining sources of water are planned to be constructed at She Oaks and Anakie by 1997/98.

As a result of these works it could be expected that all supply zones in the major urban centres of these 1a·rge water authorities will be up to an acceptable standard within the next 3-5 years.

7. 1 ,3 Results for other water authorities

Figure 5 shows that the other 99 authorities supply 45. 4 % of thei( consumers (or 31 5, 01 0 persons) w ith water that can be regarded as being of satisfactory bacteriological quality.

The improved performance by these authorities over the past five years is due mainly to the provision of f ull water treatment at 15 locations and new disinfection or improved disinfection at 28 other places {see Appendix 4) .

The situation at the end of 1993/94 is expected to have further improved with full water treatment commencing at Beechworth (upgraded), Horsham and Katandra West (total population 17,000). In addition, the water supplies at Morwell/Churchill and Newlyn, serving some 26,000 persons, have now been disinfected.

6 7. 1 .4. Results for RWC towns/supply zones

Fifty-five town supplies are provided by four of the Rural Water Corporation's Regions (see Appendix 5). The towns supplied as part of the Otway pipeline system receive good quality water. Most of the others are supplied from the domestic and stock channel system. Both the bacteriological and physical/chemical quality of these supplies fall well below acceptable guidelines for drinking water. In these small towns (19 with less than 100 persons, 20 with 100 to 499, 6 with 500 to 999, and only 5 with more than 1000 persons) the residents rely on tank water for drinking, cooking and bathing.

However, as the supplies are reticulated to the individual houses and public facilities, there is potential for the water to be used for drinking.

Because of the cost of upgrading these supplies to produce urban standord drinking water quality, and such services are not part of the Rural Water Corporation's core business, two of the regions (Wimmera-Mallee and Sunraysia) have suggested that these small towns (population less than 1000} should not be considered "urban" supplies (with urban ~uality water) but be classified. as •rural domestic" supplies. They have suggested that consideration be given to transferring responsibility for the management of these supplies to Community Advisory Committees. The RWC, however, has not yet addressed questions of asset ownership, liability or other aspects of suc·h arrangements.

The working group believes that each of the RWC supplies should be considered on its merits along with other small supplies provided at present by water authorities under the provisions of the Water Act and municipal councils under the Local Government Act 1989.

7.1.5. Local govemment supplies

Twenty-eight •towns" are supplied by municipal counclls under the provisions of the Local Government Act (as distinct from the 37 councils which supply cities and towns under the Wat.er Act). Apart from Werribee South (population 1500) most of the other 27 towns consist of only a few scattered houses serving some 800 persons (see Appendix 6). The reticulated water is used for gardens, washing and fire protection - tank water is used for drinking. There is little monitoring of water quality in these systems.

These municipal supplies come under the jurisdiction of the Minister' for local Government. It is considered that the smaller supplies should be subject to the same precautionary measures as other small supplies under the Water Act. This should be followed up by H&CS, along with supplies by the Alpine Resorts Commission, body corporates (e.g. Metcalfe Pool Co-operative near Lake Eppalock and Hamilton Park and Grant Estates near Glenrowan), and supplies to holiday camps (e.g. Wilsons Promontory). The Office of Water Reform should consider the future management arrangements for Werribee South.

7. 1.6 Supplies with food processing industries

An attempt was made to examine the quality of water supplied in systems that had food processing industries. Authorities were asked to i.nclude information about food and other industries they supplied in their answers to the questionnaire circulated to them by the Minister for Natural Resources. Examination of the returns show that some 41 authorities supply food industries (see Appendix 7).

A check on the quality of water supplied .in 1992/93 from these systems shows that there is need for a considerable improvement in performance in many cases, even in towns where water treatment plants had been constructed.

7 While it is important for authorities to endeavour to meet industry's needs for good quality water it is even more important that industries have adequate quality assurance programs in place to be quite certain that the Quality of the water supplied and used is appropriate for the proposed purposes. The Minister for Natural Resources has recently written to all water authorities and asked them to initiate discussions and develop closer working relationships with all industries (particularly those with export food processing industries) supplied from their systems.

7.2 Physical/Chemical Quality

The physical/chemical quality of Victoria's rural drinking water supplies is measured against the WHO ( 1984) guidelines~ These are identical to the NHMRC ( 1987) guidelines for most parameters. Exceptions.include chloride, sodium, pesticides (NH MAC use a different basis), some organic chemicals and di.sinfection by-products. r This report examines these Qualities for the two year period 1991-1993 in three categories:

aesthetic parameters (those which are judged .mainly by the.ir appearance); chemicals of health significance (those which may affect health): and disinfection by-products (compounds produced during disinfection).

7.2.1 Aesthetic parameters

· In general, the three large water authorities are able to supply water that has reasonably good aesthetic quality. The exceptions are colour (mainly at Ballarat) and iron.

An analysis of five of the more significant aesthetic parameters for the other authorities is summarised in Table 2.

Parameter pH Colour Turbidity Iron Manganese <6.5 >8.5 > 15 TCU > SNTU > 0.3 mg/L ;> 0.1 mg/l

Towns/Supply 34 (9) 163 (44) 99 (27) 158 (43) 11 (3) Zones 1371)

Population 47,170(7} 172, 120 (25) 64,890 (9) 153,260 (22) 3840 (1) (694,090) Note: { ) represents percentage of total. Table 2 Towns/supply zones (excluding the three large water authorities) exceeding WHO guidelines for selected physical/chemical aesthetic parameters 1991-93

A listing of the systems which have results far in excess of the guidelines is given in Appendix 8. In the main, the smaller towns have the poorest quality. Some are so turbid that the water cannot even be used for washing clothes. Water treatment (involving coagulation, sedimentation and filtration) would be required to bring these supplies up to a reasonable standard.

The taste and odour of drinking water is also important. As tests for tastes and odour compounds cost over $200 each, reliance is placed on the level of customer complaints to judge if the water is satisfactory or not. No data on tastes and odours was available for analysis in.this study.

8 7 .2.2 Chemicals of heal1h significance

The results of routine monitoring for chemicals of health significance in Victorian drinking water supplies show that the levels do not pose a significant threat to health.

lead can cause si_gnificant developmental problems in young children. Drinking water is one of the potential sources of environmental lead. It can be leached from old lead jointed pipes, solders, and from household plumbing fittings under low pH conditions.

Water samples from Victorian supplies were generally found to have insignificant levels of lead present. The WHO (1993) has lowered its guideline value for lead to 0.01 mg/L (from 0.05 mg/L) and the NHMRC proposes to do the same. This would mean that several Victorian. water supplies would occasionally exceed the proposed guideline values. Careful management to keep the pH level above 7 .0 will minimise the leaching/corrosion potential of lead and other metals (copper, zinc, cadmium) from plumbing works.

Twenty individual water supplies were identified as having slight'y elevated levels of lead. It should be noted that two of these exceeded the WHO {1984) guideline level of 0.05 mg/L (see Appendix 9). H&CS is currently conducting a statewide investigation into lead in drinking water as part of the development of the Victorian Lead Strategy.

Arsenic is usually associated with goldmining operations but is sometimes found in groundwater. Only one Victorian supply in 1991 -1993 slightly exceeded the WHO ( 1984} guideline. This was in one sample from a bore supply at Lillimur in the Shire of Kaniva. Should the guidelines be lowered (as in WHO {1993) and the proposed NHMRC guidelines) several supplies could exceed the new values. ·

No significant concentrations of other heavy metals, such as cadmium, chromium or mercury, were detected in Victoria's rural drinking water supplies.

The presence of Nitrate in drinking water can cause methaemoglobinaemia (blue babies) in infants. In 1992/93 there was one supply that had nitrate approaching and two exceeding the current WHO guidelines (see Appendix 9). In these towns, local environmental health officers and infant welfare centres keep the permanent and transient populations informed · of the risks to infants. Alternative sources of water (mainly tank water) are available in these communities for the preparation of baby foods. The WHO has slightly raised its limit on nitrates (from 40 to 50 mg/L).

Aluminium, while not strictly a health-related criteria, has received much publicity about its alleged relationship to Alzheimer's Disease. Medical opinion is still divided about the role of aluminium in the causation of this disease. At this stage, and based on current health effects data, both the WHO and the United States Environmental Protection Agency have declined to regulate a health criteria for aluminium in drinking water. The existing guidelines for aluminium have been defined in terms of aesthetic quality to limit discolouration of the · water and the staining of cooking utensils.

In Victoria there are several towns with levels of aluminium that greatly exceed the WHO guideline values. These occur in both untreated and treated supplies. High levels of aluminium have been found in untreated supplies, particularly those drawn from the Murray River and irrigation channels. These high levels are due to aluminium which is bound in the clays. This aluminium is not readily available for uptake by the body. For this reason only the supplies which are treated with alum (aluminium sulphate} have been monitored. These supplies could have elevated levels of dissolved aluminium. The supplies that have full water treatment and are more than two times higher than the WHO guideline value are listed in Appendix 10.

9 Alum is widely used throughout the world for water treatment. It is used to form a floe with particulate matter that can then be settled or filtered out of the water. In a number of cases in Victoria the final filtration stage has been deferred in order to save costs. As expected most of these supplies have high aluminium levels in the reticulated water, but so do many of the others with filtration. •

Dissolved aluminium is more of a concern for health because in this form it may be more available for uptake by the body. It is a particular problem for those undergoing renal dialysis. The amount of dissolved aluminium can be minimised by close attention to water treatment plant operations (to reduce the amount of alum used and to maintain pH levels that minimise the amount going into so!ution).

As already mentioned, it is importan"t that water treatment plant operators are fully trained in all aspects of water treatment, · including knowledge of the impacts of the various chemicals that might be present or which will be used, both for their own personal safety and the safety of the public water supply.

Tests have been taken on supplies drawn from catchments where Pesticides were most likely to be used. No concentrations exceeding the WHO guidelines were found {detection limits were generally one tenth of the guideline value) during the period 1 991- 93.

7 .2.3 Disinfection by-products

Disinfection provides the basis of public health protection against waterborne diseases. Chlorine is a widely used and effective disinfectant in drinking water. Chlorination of water that contains naturally occurring organic compounds and other chemicals causes by­ products to be formed, such as chloroform and other trihalomethanes. Concerns have been raised that these by-products may be harmful to health as some of them are known carcinogens in laboratory animals. However, public health agencies consider the risk from waterborne diseases to be much greater than the risk from exposure to low levels of disinfection by-products. Both the WHO and NHMRC (proposed) have recently raised the guideline values (to be less stringent) for the commonly formed disinfection by-products.

The study showed that 27 towns serving 27,660 persons had levels ·of chloroform that were more than three times the WHO (1984) guideline value of 0.030 mg/L (see Appendix 9). Many of these had highly coloured water. .In most cases the water will need to be treated to reduce the levels of dissolved organic compounds that are available to react with chlorine to form the unwanted disinfection by-products.

7 .2.4 Ruoridation

fo Victoria, fluoride is added to several drinking water supplies to prevent tooth decay. Approximately 75% of Victorians received fluoridated drinking water during 1993. The Melbourne metropolitan area makes up the majority of the population receiving fluoridated water. In rural Victoria, fluoridated water is supplied to the towns of Shepparton, Echuca, Tongala, Melton, Bacchus Marsh, Drouin, Stratford and Maffra. The towns of Portland, Port Fairy, Kaniva and Nhill have fluoride naturally present in their bore supplies. All supplies are closely monitored to ensure that maximum levels set by H&CS are not exceeded.

8. SMALL TOWNS DILEMMA

As discussed, the majority of small towns of less than 1000 population have reticulated supplies that do not meet the guidelines for either the bacteriological or physical/chemical quality requirements for drinking water supplies. The water is mainly used for watering gardens, flushing toilets, washing (although often too dirty) and fire protection. Water for drinking, cooking and bathing is supplied from individual rainwater tanks.

10 Thirty-one small systems were not even monitored for bacteriological quality in 1 992/93 because of the costs involved in testing and most properties have rainwater tanks for drinking. A number of the relevant authorities have sought exemption from the Health (Quality of Drinking Water) Regulations which require all drinking water supplies to be monitored at least monthly.

8.1 Non-Potable Supplies

Two alternatives available for small towns are as follows :

upgrade water quality progressively to reach an acceptable standard for drinking; or declare the supply not suitable for drinking and require warning signs to be erected.

Limited special f1Jnding has .been available for upgrading small systems from State and Federal sources under the Country Town Water Supply Improvement Program (COWSIP}. Even though two-thirds of the capital cost could be met by government grants, the community would still have to find the balance of cost as well as the operating and maintenance costs. Some small communities just want to be left alone, fearing that any increase in costs would cause a further decline in total population. In fact, the opposite could be true if good quality water was available at a reasonable cost.

Small towns need innovative technology.

Larger authorities could provide the necessary technical expertise to address the special needs of small towns and allow more financial flexibility for meeting costs.

If it is not practicable (technically and financially) to supply water of acceptable quality then consideration could be given to declaring the supply "non-potable• or unsuitable for drinking and exempting it from the provisions of the Health (Quality of Drinking Water) Regulations. This could also apply to reticulated public supplies under the Local Government Act.

A suggested procedure for considering exemptions is:

(a) authority to demonstrate that upgrading the quality is not feasible. The feasibiljty study should include:

examination of low cost technologies; options for supply from another source; and cost-sharing potential if managed by a larger regional authority;

(b) review of technical appraisal and financ.ial analysJs by CNR and H&CS;

(c) authority prepares draft information for a poll of its ratepayers for approval by CNR and H&CS (to ensure that the information is accurate and clearly sets out the options); and

(di poll conducted, results analysed and decision made. by responsible authority. If the result is in favour of seeking declaration as a non-potable supply, formal application could then be made by the authority to H&CS for granting exemption with conditions.

The conditions which should apply to non-potable reticulated water supplies should include:

disinfection with chlorine (to provide some level of protection in the event of accidental use or in bathing of young children who may drink some of the water);

, 1 graphical warning signs to be placed and maintained at: all roads entering the town; all public .toilets and other public taps·at camping and recreational areas; · all accommodation premises; and all private taps;

annual notices to be given to each consumer;

disconnection of reticulated water to kitchen; bathroom and other places where the water could be used for drinking, cooking or bathing; and

authority to supply H&CS with regular reports of chlorine used and inspections made to ensure compliance with the conditions. The supply authority should have a Quality Assurance Plan to show that it is capable of managing the system. H&CS should regularly audit compliance.

In granting an exemption from the Regulations, H&CS would need to make it very clear that full responsibility and liability for any action in relation to such a supply rested entirely with the relevant supply authority.

If an authority refuses to take steps to upgrade its water quality or apply for exemption then consideration should be given to transferring its functions to another authority. Some examples of where a transfer of responsibility has resulted in a fully treated supply being made available for small towns are Axedale and Raywood (Coliban RWA), Violet Town {Shepparton WB), Lorne {Colac District WB), Stratford (Macalister WBI and Lockington (Rochester WB). ·

Another option could be to establish a special co-operative to take over management of the system. Alternatively, the system could be handed over to the local municipal council and managed under the Local Government Act. Another possibility would be for the management to be contracted out. In this case liability and responsibility would remain with the controlling authority. None of these alternatives are recommended as there would be insufficient legislative powers and other measures to ensure adequate health protection.

The working group could discuss these options with water industry, health and community representatives with a view to developing a sound policy position for consideration and adoption by the Government. Firm proposals could be developed and submitted within siK months.

8.2 Special Funding Program for Small Towns

The Federal Government has provided grants amounting to some $2.5m over the past five years for water quality improvement works for small communities in Victoria. Funds under COWSIP (now COWMIP) have been matched by State government grants, and the balance (one-third) of the cost has been met by the local authority.

In order to achieve maximum value from such grants the limited funds have usually only been made available where a larger authority has agreed to take over responsibilitY for future management of the system. The type of works that qualify for COWMIP assistance are disinfection, roofing of open storages, alterations to facilitate mains cleaning operations, and water treatment.

Sorrie of the towns tflat have obtained funding for water quality improvement works in recent years are shown in Table 3:

The working group believes that future allocations should only be offered where there has been a proper evaluation of all options, including dual water supplies for treated and untreated water and other low cost options.

12 Town Population Total Cost($)

Axed ale 210 200,000 Riddells Creek .1,600 504,000 ·' Rosedale 1,500 35, 100 Kilmore 2,800 1, 150,000 Devenish 120 72,000

Table 3 Towns which have received COWSIP funding in recent years

9. ACCOUNTABILITY

Water authorities constituted by Government to provide services should be accountable for their actions, both to Government and the communities they serve. Open reporting systems should be developed which clearly show the level of performance against:

licence requirements (when issued to the new regional authorities); local objectives and targets agreed with the community; health standards; and other government objectives, guidelines and standards.

The reports should discuss the level of achievement, the reasons why any goals were not met, and the action which is proposed to be taken to enable compliance within a specified period. Such information should be available annually in a standard format. This will enable inter·authority and statewide comparisons to be made. It will also allow the authority's customers (and proposed customers, e.g. potential industries) to make decisions about water quality.

The Water Act specifies the functions of authorities and contains provisions which relate to annual reporting. Section. 163 provides that an authority that has a water district has a function .. to identify community needs relating to water supply and to plan for the future needs of the community relating to water supply.. and "to educate the public about any aspect of water supply". Section 250 requires an authority to prepare an annual report for each financial year containing "a report of its operations during the financial year" and submit the report to the Minister. The Minister may specify the form of the report.

The working group believes that the report should include information on monitoring results for the following parameters:

Bacteriological quality - per cent of samples with no coliforms and no E. coli, minimum and maximum levels, and number of samples tested. There should be comments on the action taken where any sample exceeded the guideline value. Any pathogens that were detected should also be reported.

Physical/chemical aualitt - per cent of samples within the guideline levels, number of samples tested, and minimum and maximum levels. Where any health related criteria were exceeded the report should include comments on any action taken to meet the goals.

The report should at least include the results for turbidity, colour, pH, and Trihalomethanes (THM's). The results for any other parameters which are likely to exceed the guidelines (e.g. pesticides. aluminium) should also be included.

13 In addition, under the Health (Quality of Drinking Water) Regulations, authorities are obliged to notify the Chief General Manager of H&CS whenever there is or is likely to be a significant risk of waterborne disease. This reQuirement should be strictly enforced.

Such repons should be linked with business and financial planning and be made freely available to all customers. They will satisfy the. consumer's right to know what they are paying for, and allow consumers to become involved in setting local standards of service.

The form of the annual report ~.hould be easily understood by consumers. The form and method of presentation should be set by the Minister after there has been consultation between CNR, H&CS and industry representatives.

Authorities which draw their water supplies from sources which may be subject to contamination (panicula~ly from municipal sewage and septic tank effluent, urban drainage, and farm animals) should undertake regular tests for the presence of pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium and Giardia. Under the Regulations any findings must be immediately reported to H&CS.

As some of these pathogens are not notifiable diseases (under the Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1990), H&,CS should give consideration to requiring doctors and pathology laboratories to report on any findings of such diseases in the community. Such information will help to build up background knowledge on such diseases which will assist in assessing future standards for drinking water Quality and other community health programs.

Another aspect of accountability is liability. This is complicated when the community is asked to comment on health related aspects of drinking water quality. For example, the supply by the Upper Murray Water Board to Walwa frequently contains indicator organisms. Pathogens have also been isolated from samples. When put to a public meeting and a survey of customers the local community has requested that the supply not be disinfected or treated in any way. The Board has resolved that it will not disinfect the supply but will advise water users to boil all water before drinking. However, this arrangement does not offer any protection for unwary travellers (e.g. some 3000 thirsty bike riders recently camped over night at Walwa during the Great Australian Bike-ride from Sydney to Melbourne).

The question of liability if someone becomes ill (or dies) after drinking the water could be difficult to resolve. If damages were sought from the Board it would probably seek to pass on responsibility to its ratepayers. For a corporatised body, the directors would individually be liable. The significance of water supply standards or guidelines then becomes even more important.

10. GUIDELINES OR STANDARDS

As mentioned in Section 5 different guidelines are now used for rural and metropolitan drinking water supplies. Rural drinking water supplies are monitored against the ·WHO (1984} guidelines, and metropolitan supplies are tested against the NHMRC (1987) guidelines. This is confusing for consumers.

The WHO recently updated its 1984 guidelines which are published as its new 1993 guidelines. The new guidelines are slightly more stringent in some areas and less in others. The NHMRC (1987) guidelines are also being updated. At this stage it is expected that the draft guidelines will be released for public comment in July 1994 prior to being adopted in mid-1995. A summary of some of the key differences is shown in Appendix 11.

14 It is important to understand that both the WHO and NHMRC recommend "guidelines" rather than enforceable "standards" which should never be exceeded. It is left to individual countries and states to determine which if any guidelines should become standards.

Also, the proposed NHMRC revised guidelines are being written in terms of "good quality" drinking water. They suggest that individual communities should make judgements based on local social, economic and health considerations especially where high costs might be involved in improving some of the aesthetic aspects of water quality. Consequently, adoption of the proposed revised NHMRC guidelines as the benchmark for measuring statewide performance would present some problems as local targets could differ from place to place.

Also, adopting the proposed guidelines could result in significant increases in cost without there being a substantial benefit through reduced incidence of illness, damage to appliances (e.g. hot water services), and customer satisfaction. For example, it could cost some $600m for new water treatment works (with additional annual costs of $40m) if metropolitan supplies· were required to meet the proposed NHMRC guidelines for bacteriological quality. It should also be recalled that only 32% of rural consumers receive water that complies with the current WHO (1984) guidelines.

Before adopting any new set of guidelines for rural or metropolitan supplies it is considered that there should be:

an evaluation of international standards and levels of compliance; an evaluation of the levels of risk, and costs and benefits of changing to new criteria; and co.nsultation with consumers.

Further, studies. should be undertaken by H&CS to attempt to determine if there is any correlation between the incidence of illness and the presence of waterborne pathogens. More work on pathogens and water-related epidemiology is needed to establish the significance of current conditions in 'the environment. The results of this work will allow a higher levef of confidence to be applied when setting new guidelines for drinking water supplies.

10.1 Community Involvement

The level of public consultation and responsibility for making appropriate decisions is important. In the past consumers have largely accepted that the water they receive is of a satisfactory quality. This is particularly so in the metropolitan area where the quality has appeared to be of a high standard.

However, there is now more community interest in what else is in the water. Questions are asked about aluminium, lead, copper, trihalomethanes and pesticides, often because people do not understand the significance of these substances. There is a need for more effort to be put into community information programs. Easy to read publications on bacteriological, physical/chemical, and biological (algae, slimes etc., that cause taste and odour} aspects of drinking water supplies need to be produced. Authorities should develop effective community information programs so that future consultations can be meaningful and useful for both sides. There needs to be a clear understanding of what is negotiable and what is not.

15 11. RECOMMENDATIONS

This review of drinking water quality has shown that more than two·thirds of· rural Victorians are still supplied with water that does not meet basic health guidelines. There are four key areas which need to be addressed. These are:

1. Guidelines

It is recommended that the current guidelines (Wotld Heahh Organization 1984) be retained for use in 1993194 and 1994195.

Comment: Many rural supplies do not meet the current guidelines. The economic impact and benefits in terms of public health should be carefully assessed before adopting any new guidelines for city or rural supplies. It should be noted that it would cost $600m with an additional $40m per annum to treat all of Melbourne's water to comply with the revised WHO guidelines.

Actions: The impacts of adopting either the revised WHO (1993) guidelines or the proposed NHMRC revised guidelines will be evaluated. It is proposed that by the end of March 1995, CNR and H&CS will:

(a) review international guidelines and assess their relevance to Australian conditions;

(b) undertake a risk assessment and cost benefit analysis of adopting the alternative revised WHO or draft NHMRC guidelines; and

(c) make further recommendations to the Government on which set or sets of guidelines· should be adopted for all Victorian supplies, including the Melbourne metropolitan area.

2. Targeted Improvements

It is recommended ·that the three largest non-metropolitan urban water authorities continue to upgrade the bacteriological quality of the drinking water supplies to Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong. In addition, action is to be taken by other water authorities to ensure that their supplies meet current guidelines within the next five years.

Comment: The supplies to the three large provincial centres did not meet the guidelines for bacteriological quality of drinking water in 1992/93. Each authority has taken steps to improve water quality and satisfactory results are expected in 1993/94. Supplies by other authorities wh.ich have already invested in water treatment or which supply food industries and/or tourism should be achieving far better results than at present.

Actions: The Minister for Natural Resources will write to each authority and specify a time by which improvement plans must be prepared and satisfactory water quality .. (generally within the next five years) must be achieved. CNR will monitor progress.

Where an authority has poor drinking water quality and does not have or does not prepare an adequate plan to upgrade its system, the Minister shall consider transferring the authority's water functions to another authority.

16 ,

3. Non·Potable Supplies

Where a small town water supply has unsatisfactory quaHty and it can be demonstrated that it is not practicabl• to upgrade the quality the Department of Health and Community Services should declare it "unsuitable for drinking" and require adequate wamings and other measures to be given and maintained.

Comment: If it is not economically feasible (even under different management arrangements) to provide water of satisfactory quality, then all potential consumers should be adequately warned.

Actions: By the end of September 1994, H&CS (in consultation with CNR and consumer groups) will prepare and issue conditions for considering and declaring supplies "unsuitable for drinking". These conditions will include a requirement for the water authority to evaluate all options for upgrading the supply (including all suitable low cost options and alternative sources of funds), the conduct of proper public consultations, and the installation and maintenance of specified warning systems. Authorities will· then be asked by H&CS to advise their intentions (either to seek· a declaration or upgrade their supplies) within the following six months.

H&CS will issue interim declarations where existing supplies are unsafe.

4. Accountability

It is recommended that operating licences for the new regional water authorities require "open" reporting by the licence holders to both the Government and the communities they serve, and that a report containing the results ofwater quality monitoring for all rural drinking water supplies should be prepared and released by the Minister for Natural Resources by the end of July 1994.

Comment: Consumers have a right to know about the quality of water they receive. Open reporting and public disclosure of the .monitoring results will provide useful information on past performance.

Actions: CNR will consult with H&CS to determine suitable open reporting requirements for new operating licences.

By the end of July 1994 CNR, in consultation with H&CS, will prepare a report on the monitoring results for the period 1988/89 to 1992/93 for wide public distribution.

Public information material on the different bacteriological, physical, chemical and biological aspects of drinking water quality will be prepared by CNR in consultation with H&CS by December 1994.

CNR will make recommendations to the Minister for Natural Resources on the need for retaining section 166 of the Water Act 1989. This section currently provides protection to water authorities from litigation arising from the addition of chemicals during water treatment and may be an impediment to achieving better water quality.

17 APPENDIX 1

BACTERIOLOGICAL QUALITY VICTORIAN NON-METROPOLITAN WATER.SUPPLIES -1992/93 Percentage of Samples with 0 coliforms and 0 E.coli

Towns/Supply Zones Authority Population 010 - Water Within Distribution System !al 95 - 1009£1 cf samSJles witb 0 colifccms aad 0 E. coli J Long Forest Road Bacchus Marsh Shire 50 100 Bungaree-Wallace Ballarat WB 500 100 Lockington Campaspe Region WA 400 100 Rochester Campaspe Region WA 2500 100 Cobram Cobram Shire 4300 100 Gunbower Cohuna Shire 140 100 Beeac Colac District WB 350 100 Colac ( + misc. ruralsl Colac District WB 16250 100 Cororooke Colac District WB 200 100 Fryerstown Coliban Region WA 340 100 Taradale Caliban Region WA 340 100 Dean Creswick & District WB 100 100 Tongala Deakin WB 1100 100 Mt. Duneed District Geelong & District WB 4900 100 Winchelsea Geelong & District WB 1100 100 Cowwarr Gippsland Water 700 100 Kan iva Kaniva Shire 900 100 Leongatha Leongatha WB 4500 100 Bonnie Doon Mansfield District WB 150 100 Rockbank Melton Shire 1000 100 Heathcote Junction Mid-Goulburn Regional WB 100 100 Wandong Mid-Goulburn Regional WB 200 100 Strathmerton Numurkah Shire 500 ·100 Noorat Otway District AWC 260 100 Beulah Ouyen RWC 350 100 Port Fairy Port Fairy WB 2500 100 Portland Portland WB 11000 100 Robinvale Robinvale WB 3000 100 Murchison Shepparton WB 1000 100 Red Cliffs Sunraysia WB 3000 100 Buln Buln Tarago WB 150 100 Darnum Tarago WB 250 100 Drouin Tarago WB 4650 100 Neerim South Tarago WB 520 100 NiIma Tarago WB 250 100 Rokeby Tarago WB 80 100 Warragul Tarago WB 12550 100 Tungamah Tungamah Shire WB 350 100 Wangaratta Wangaratta City 17000 100 Peterborough Warrnambool Shire 180 100 Yarrawonga Yarrawonga Shire 4500 100 1 Yea YeaWB 1100 100 Melton Melton Shire 31500 99 Mildura ( + misc. . districts) Sunraysia WB 28500 99 Warrnambool Warrnambool City 25500 99 Newstead Coliban Region WA 1020 98 Tallygaroopna Shepparton WB 120 98 Castlemaine Coliban Region WA 6970 97

A1 Towns/Supply Zones Authority Popu!ation 010 - Water Within Distribution System Seymour ( + Site 1 7) Mid-Goulburn Regional WB 7000 97 Shepparton Shepparton WB 33000 97 Echuca Campaspe Region WA 9500 96 Bendigo (Big Hill) Coliban Region WA 85 96 Bendigo (Spring Gully) Coliban Region WA 6460 96 Harcourt Coliban Region WA 935 96 Donald Donald WB 1700 96 Euro a Euroa-Nagambie Regional WA 3000 96 Nagambie Euroa-Nagambie Regional WA 1800 96 Sydenham West Melton Shire 200 96 Toolern Vale Melton Shire 300 96 Terang Otway District AWC 2200 96 Swan Hill Swan Hill WB 10000 96 Noojee Tcirago WB 350 96 Warracknabeal Warracknabeal WB 3200 96 Wonthaggi Wor.thaggi-lnverloch WB 6500 96 Korumburra Korumburra WB 3900 95 Toolamba Mooroopna WB 220 95 Sub-total 95 - 100% 66 287270 27.06%

!bl 9Q • 9~ % of samples witb Q colifocms and Q E. coli Axedale Coliban Region WA 210 94 Raywood Coliban Region WA 340 94 Girgarre Deakin WB 300 94 Maffra Macalister WB 4600 94 Mooroopna Mooroopna WB 7000 94 Tallangatta Tallangatta Shire 1000 94 Traralgon South Gippsland Water 150 93 Bairnsdale Mitchell we 11000 93 Buxton Alexandra Shire 360 92 Sea Lake Birchip RWC 1000 92 Wycheproof Birchip RWC 1000 92 Torquay Geelong &. District WB 4400 92 Boolarra Gippsland Water 600 92 Tyers Gippsland Water 500 92 Tooborac Heathcote WB 110 92 Sawmill Settlement Mansfield District WB 600 92 Eagle Point Mitchell WB 360 92 Picola Nathalia Shire 80 92 Allansford Otway District RWC 500 92 Cobden Otway District RWC 1450 92 Simpson Otway District RWC 270 92 Welshpool South Gippsland WB 250 92 lrymple Sunraysia WB 1530 92 Lalbert Swan Hill RWC 140 92 Nyah West Swan Hill RWC 530 92 Ultima Swan Hill RWC 210 92 .. Stanhope Waranga WB 600 92 San Remo Westernport WB 600 92 Devon North Alberton WB 400 91 I Eildon. Alexandra Shire 1500 91 Toongabbie Gippsland Water 600 91 Maryborough Maryborough City 9000 91 Glenormiston Otway District RWC 50 91 Wahgunyah Wodonga Rural City 300 91 Cape Paterson Wonthaggi-lnverloch WB 1000 91

A2. Towns/Supply Zones Authority Population 010 - Water Withi'n Distribution System Oxley Bright Distric~ WB 150 90 Lindenow Mitchell WB 450 90 lnverloch Wonthaggi-lnverloch WB 2200 90 Sub-total 90 - 95% 38 55340 5.21% fcl 50 - 89°& of SiUDRles witb Q coliforms and 0 E. coli Boo rt Gordon WB 1000 89 Nathalia Nathalia Shire 1500 88 Numurkah Numurkah Shire 3000 88 Dookie Shepparton WB 300 88 Rushworth Waranga WB 1200 88 Cohuna Cohuna Shire 2400 87 Bendigo (Sandhurst) Coliban Region WA 29750 87 Kyabram Kyabram Town 5900 87- Chiltern Wodonga Rural City 1500 87 Traralgon Gippsland Water 23000 86 Dumbalk Tarwin Valley WB 210 86 Heathcote Heathcote WB 2500 85 Lake Boga Swan Hill WB 500 85 Ventnor Westernport WB 450 85 Geelong (Montpellier) Geelong & District WB 49000 84 Tatura Rodney WB 4000 84 Bright Bright Di~rict WB 1800 83 Harrietville Bright District WB 750 83 Moyhu Bright District WB 230 83 Leitchville Cohuna ·Shire 160 83 Forrest Colac District WB 200 83 Gellibrand Colac District WB 200 83 Barmah Nathalia Shire 350 83 Katunga Numurkah Shire 120 83 Hopetoun Quyen RWC 800 83 Merrigum RodneyWB 320 83 Fish Creek South Gippsland WB 190 83 Foster . South Gippsland WB 1100 83 Birdwoodton Sunraysia WB 50 83 Manangatang Swan Hill RWC 370 83 Bellbridge Tallangatta Shire 200 83 Carisbrook T ullaroop Shire 700 83 Woolamai Waters Westernport WB 250 83 Yarram Alberton WB 2600 82 Bacchus Marsh Bacchus Marsh Shire 13500 82 Ocean Grove Geelong & District WB 11200 82 Sunbury Macedon Region WA 20000 82 Leopold Geelong & District WB .4200 81 Port Albart Alberton WB 500 80 Bena Ila ~nalla WB 9000 80 Bendigo (Crusoe/Specimen Hill) Caliban Region WA 34000 80 Queenscliff Geelong & District WB 4300 80 St. Arnaud St. Arnaud Town 3000 80 Meeniyan Tarwin Va lley WB 450 80 Glenrowan Wangaratta City 250 80 Woomelang Birchip RWC 300 79 Anglesea Geelong & District WB 1900 79 Birregurra Geelong & District WB 450 79 Kerang Kerang Borough 4000 79 Cardross Sunraysia WB 50 79

A3 Towns/Supply Zones Authority Population 0/0 - Water Within Distribution System Merbein Sunraysia WB 2000 79 Sale Sale City 14010 78 Geelong (Hightonl Geelong & District WB 37000 77 Loch Korumburra WB 300 77 Nyora Korumburra WB 600 77 Mallacoota Mallacoota W8 1000 77 Ou yen Ouyen RWC 1700 77 Bass Westernport WB 80 77 Newhaven Westernport WB 400 77 Wodonga Wodonga Rural City 27000 77 Guildford Coliban Region WA 255 75 Anakie Geelong &. District WB 500 76 Koondrook Kerang RWC 700 75 Heyfield Macalister WB · 1800 75 Stratford Macalister WB 1400 75 Tallarook Mid-Goulburn Regional WB 220 75 Pyalong Pyalong WB 250 75 Pomona! Stawell WB 150 75 Beechworth Beechworth United Shire 3750 74 Mount Egerton Ballan Shire 400 73 Thorpdale .Gippsland Water 180 73 Lorne Lorne WB 900 73 Walpeup Ouyen RWC 180 73 Maldon Caliban Region WA 2465 72 Geelong (Grovedale) Geelong &. District WB 12500 72 Violet Town Shepparton WB 1400 72 Nullawil Birchip RWC 100 71 Strathfieldsaye Caliban Region WA 935 71 Mirboo North Gippsland Water 1250 71 Moe Gippsland Water 14000 71 Mansfield Mansfield District WB 2500 71 Dartmouth Tallangatta Shire 80 71 Alberton . Alberton WB 450 70 Marong Coli ban Region WA 340 70 Kyneton Coliban Region WA 5000 69 Kilcunda Westernport WB 100 69 Avoca Avoca Shire 1100 67 Rokewood Ballarat WB 800 67 Smythesdale-Scarsdale Ballarat WB 1800 67 Cressy Colac District WB 200 67 Poowong Korumburra WB 420 67 Mortlake Mortlake WB 1200 67 Ny ah Swan Hill RWC 350 67 Woorinen Swan Hill RWC 340 67 Talbot Talbot & Clunes Shire 400 67 Alexandra Alexandra Shire 2500 64 Birchip Birchip RWC 1100 64 Ouambatook Swan Hill RWC 400 64 Katamatite Cobram Shire 280 63 Dunkeld Mount Rouse Shire 500 62 Archies Creek Westernport WB 80 62 Kiewa Wodonga Rural City 200 62 Tangambalanga Wodonga Rural City· 300 62 Elmore Campaspe Region WA 900 60 Mt. Beauty Kiewa Valley WA 1500 60 Yackandandah Kiewa Valley WA 750 60

A4 Towns/Supply Zones Authority Population 0/0 - Water Within Distribution System Gordon Ballan Shire 300 58 Elphinstone Coliban Region WA 170 58 Smeaton Creswick & District WB 100 58 Morwell Gippsland Water 20600 58 Trafalgar Gippsland Water 2150 58 Eden hope Kowree WB 1000 58 Paynesville Mitchell WB 2300 58 Portarlington-St. Leona rd s Ge.elong & District WB 5050 57 Diggers Rest Macedon Region WA 2150 57 Avenel Mid-Goulburn Regional WB 650 56 Carwarp Sunraysia RWC 50 55 Ballan Ballan Shire 1800 54 Sebastian Caliban Region WA 170 52 Wall an Mid-Goulburn Regional WB 2500 52 Horsham Horsham City 13160 51 Cowes Westernport WB 2000 51 Glengarry Gippsland Water 1500 50 Willow Grove Gippsland Water 300 50 Tawonga Kiewa Valley WA 250 50 Sub-total 50 - 89% 125 450915 42.48%

!di 11 - ~9 ~ cf sampl_es witb Q colifarrns and 0 E coli Buchan TamboWB . 210 47 Drysdale-Clifton Springs Geelong & District WB 7000 46 Briagolong Macaliste• WB 820 46 Dinner Plain Omeo Shire 50 46 Churchill Gippsland Water 4800 45 Geelong (lovely Banks) Geelong & District WB 42500 43 Myrniong Bacchus Marsh Shire 180 42 Malmsbury Caliban Region WA 520 42 Newborough Gippsland Water 6000 42 Woodend Macedon Region WA 1600 42 Marysville Mid-Goulburn Regional WB 600 42 Wunghnu Numurkah Shire 190 42 Stawell StaweU WB 7000 42 Piangil Swan Hill .RWC 190 42 Bannockburn District Geelong & District WB 3000 41 Creswick Creswick & District WB 3000 40 Cudgewa Upper Murray WB 220 40 Daylesford (low Level) Ballarat WB 2000 39 Yarragon Gippsland Water 650 38 Inglewood Korong Shire 1100 38 Penshurst Mount Rouse Shire 600 38 Murtoa Murtoa WB 1000 38 Cann River Orbost WB 320 38 Rhyll Westernport WB 300 38 Apollo Bay Colac District WB 1300 35 Blackwood Ballan Shire 700 33 Beaufort Beaufort WB 1500 33 Hazelwood North Gippsland Water 320 33 Glenmaggie Maca.lister WB 220 33 Speed Ouyen RWC 60 33 Toora South Gippsland WB 640 33 Caramut Warrnambool Shire 200 33 Koroit Warrnambool Shire 1300 33 Skipton Ballarat WB 1000 32

AS Towns/Supply Zones Authority Population 010 • Water Within Distribution System Yallourn North Gippsland Water 1360 32 Timboon Heytesbury Shire 900 32 Yinnar Gippsland Water 830 31 Port Welshpool South Gippsland WB 260 31 Corinella Westernport WB 230 31 Nowa Nowa Tambo WB 230 29 Charlton Charlton WB 1300 28 Ballarat Ballarat WB 75700 27 Seaspray Gippsland Water 300 27 Yaapeet Quyen RWC 30 27 Purnim Warrnainbool .Shire 150 27 Kingston Creswick & District WB 100 25 Lismore Hampden Shire 370 25 Boisdale Macalister WB 110 25 Werrimull Sunraysia RWC 70 25 Lakes Entrance Tambo WB 4800 24 Corryong Upper Murray WB 1500 23 Barnawartha Wodonga Rural City 350 23 Tylden Caliban Region WA 200 22 Riddells Creek Macedon Region WA 1600 22 Pioneer Bay Westernport WB 150 22 Omeo Omeo Shire 550 21 Tawonga South Kiewa Valley WA 220 20 Underbool Walpeup Shire 300 20 Linton Ballarat WB 1500 19 Erica Gippsland Water 270 19 Kilmore · Mid-Goulbum Regional WB 2800 19 Port Franklin South Gippsland we· 250 18 Rutherglen Wodonga Rural City 1600 18 Buninyong Ballarat WB 2200 17 Watchem Birchip RWC . 200 17 Porepunkah Bright District WB 450 17 Camperdown Camperdown Town 3640 17 Springmount Creswick & District WB 100 17 Rawson Gippsland Water 340 17 Rosedale Gippsland Water 1500 17 Derrina11um Hampden Shire 300 17 Coongulla Macalister WB 500 17 Bulla Macedon Region WA 350 17 Nhill NhillWB 2350 17 Chinkapook Quyen RWC 30 17 Goorambat Shepparton WB 120 17 Benfield Stawell Shire 30 17 Chillingollah Swan Hill RWC 20 17 Great Western Stawell Shire 200 16 Marlo Orbost WB 320 15 Pyramid Hill Pyramid Hill RWC 650 15 Wedderburn Korong Shire 1200 14 Coleraine Glenelg-Wannon WB 900 13 Lexton Lexton WB 250 13 Swifts Creek Omeo Shire 420 13 Macorna Pyramid Hill RWC 40 13 Romsey Romsey-Lancefield WB 2000 13 Colbinabbin Waranga WB 160 13 Sub-total 11 - 49% 90 207390 19.54%

A6 Towns/Supply Zones Authority Population 010 - Water Within Distribution System !el 0 - l Q% cf samples witb Q coliforms and 0 E. coli Daylestord (High Level) Ballarat WB 1000 10 Lancefield Romsey-Lancefield WB 1500 10 Amphitheatre Lexton WB 160 9 Gisborne Macedon Region WA 2500 9 Woods Point Mansfield.District WB 50 9 Thornton Alexandra Shire 180 8 Skenes Creek Colac District WB 100 8 Newlyn Creswick & District WB 100 8 Longwood Euroa-Nagambie Regional WA 120 8 Cavendish Hamilton WB 200 8 Pimpinio Horsham RWC 70 8 Korong Vale Korong Shire 350 a Waubra Lexton WB 200 8 Marnoo Murtoa RWC 120 8 Newmerella Orbost WB 200 8 Orbost Orbost WB 2500 8 Nandaly Ouyen RWC 90 8 Patchewollock Ouyen RWC 80 8 Tempy Ouyen RWC 60 8 Mitiamo Pyramid Hill RWC 150 8 Fairhaven Aireys Inlet WB 200 7 Glenthompson Mount Rouse Shire 250 7 Metung Tambo WB 500 7 Hamilton Hamilton WB 11000 6 Broadford Mid-Goulburn Regional WB 1600 6 Aireys Inlet Aireys Inlet WB 300 4 Bruthen TamboWB 560 4 Goornong Coliban Region WA 340 3 Ararat Ararat City 9200 0 Elmhurst Ararat Shire 120 0 Lake Bolac Ararat Shire 600 0 Moyston Ararat Shire 200 0 Will aura Ararat Shire 800 0 Berriwillock Birchip RWC 200 0 Culgoa Birchip RWC 200 0 Whitfield Bright District WB 160 0 Bridgewater Coliban Region WA 480 0 Trentham Coliban Region WA 630 0 Balmoral Glenelg·Wannon WB 300 0 Casterton Glenelg-Wannon WB 2000 0 Tarrington Hamilton WB 200 0 Port Campbell Hevtesbury Shire 260 0 Heywood Heywood WB 1300 0 Antwerp Horsham RWC 30 0 Dimboola Horsham RWC 1510 0 Dooen Horsham RWC 30 0 Jeparit Horsham AWC 480 0 Natimuk Horsham RWC 460 0 Rainbow Horsham RWC 660 0 Murrabit Kerang RWC 70 0 Lear month Learmonth WB 130 0 Macedon Macedon Region WA 1800 0 Mt. Macedon Macedon Region WA 900 0 Brim Murtoa RWC 150 0 Jung Murtoa RWC 90 0

A7 Towns/Supply Zones Authority Population 010 - Water Within Distribution System Minyip Murtoa RWC 540 0 Rupanyup Murtoe RWC 450 0 Myrtleford Myrtleford Shire 3600 0 Bemm River Orbost we 50 0 lascelles Quyen RWC 60 0 Dingee Pyramid Hill RWC 60 0 Springhurst Springhurst WB 200 0 Glenorchy Stawell Shire 150 0 Halls Gep Stawell Shire 300 0 Meringur Sunraysia RWC 30. 0 Clunes Talbot & Clunes Shire 1700 . 0 Walwa Upper Murray WB 230 0 Cowangie Walpeup Shire 40 0 Murrayville Walpeup Shire 300 0 Corop Waranga WB 30 0 Coronet Bay Westernport WB 550 0 Sub-total 0 - 10% 69 55730 5.25%

Untested 31 4900 0 .46%

Totals 419 1061545 100%

A8 APPENDIX 2 BACTERIOLOGICAL RESULTS 1992193 FULLY TREATED WATER SUPPLIES Per cent of Samples having 0 coliforms and 0 E. coli Water entering and water within the distribution system

Towns/Supply Zones Population Treatment Oisinf- Water Entering Water Within ection

{al Sur;mlies h2ving aQ~ Qr mQr~ Hm12les with Q ~QlifQrmi ind Q f.1 '-.Q/i Beeac 350 FD c 100 100 Buln Buln 150 s c 100 Cobram 4300 FX c 100 100 Colac { + misc. rural) 16250 FD c 100 100 Cororooke 200 FD c 100 100 Darnum 250 s c 100 Drouin 4650 s c .100 Heathcote Junction 100 SF c 91 100 Leongatha 4500 SF c 100 100 Lockington 400 SF c 83 100 Long Forest Road 50 SF CN 95 100 Mt. Duneed District 4900 FX CN 54 100 Murchison 1000 SF c 100 100 Nilma 250 s c 100 Red Cliffs 3000 0 c 100 100 Robinvale 3000 SF c 100 100 Rochester 2500 SF c 100 100 Rockbank 1000 SF CN 95 100 Rokeby 80 s c 100 Tongala 1100 SF c 100 Tungamah 350 s c 100 Wandong 200 SF c 91 100 Wangaratta 17000 SF c 100 100 Warragul 12550 s c 100 Winchelsea 11.00 FX CN 100 100 Yarrawonga 4500 FX c 100 100 Yea 1100 s c 100 100 Melton 31500 SF CN 95 99 Mildura ( + misc districts) 28500 SF c 100 99 Warrnambool · 25500 SF CN 100 99 Tallygaroopna 120 SF c 98 Seymour I + Site 17) 7000 s c 100 97 Sheppanon 33000 SF c 100 97 Echuca 9500 SF c 100 96 Euroa 3000 s c 100 96 Swan Hill 10000 SF c 100 96 Sydenham West 200 SF CN 95 96 Toolern Vale 300 SF CN 96 Warracknabeal 3200 s c 100 96 Wonthaggi 6500 s c 100 96 Korumburra 3900 SF c 91 95 Maffra 4600 SF c 92 94 Mooroopna 7000 SF c 100 94 Raywood 340 SF Cta) 96 94 Boolarra 600 SF c 91 92 lrymple 1530 SF c 92 Pico la 80 SF c 92 92

A9 Towns/Supply Zones Population . Treatment Disinf- Watar Enterki~ Water Within ection

San Remo 600 FD t 92 Tooborac 110 FM c 92 Torquay 4400 FX CN 0 92 Welshpool 250 SF c 100 92 Cape Paterson 1000 s c 100 91 Mai'yborough 9000 SF c 100 91 Sub-total 276560

!bl Sug1:1li~i having leSi lhii!n ~Q~ Qf 12~mQlii with Q ~QlifQrmi ii!nd Q E. r;.Qli Boort 1000 s c 70 89 Nathalia 1500 SF c 100 88 Numurkah 3000 SF c 88 Cohuna 2400 s c 100 87 Kyabram 5900 s c 100 87 Traralgon 23000 F c 100 86 Lake Boga 500 SF c 92 85 Ventnor· 450 FD c 85 Geelong (Montpellier) 49000 FX CN 13 84 Tatura 4000 s c 92 84 Barmah · 350 SF c 83 Birdwoodton 50 SF c 83 Carisbrook 700 SF c 100 83 Foster 1100 SF c 58 83 Leitch ville 160 SF c 100 83 Woolamai Waters 250 FD c 83 Bacchus Marsh 13500 SF c 92 82 Ocean Grove 11200 FX CN 15 82 Sunbury 20000 SF c 100 82 Leopold 4200 FX CN 100 81 Oueenscliff 4300 FX CN 0 80 Anglesea 1900 FX CN 21 79 Cardross 50 SF c 79 Kerang 4000 s c 92 79 Merbein 2000 SF c 96 79 Sale 14010 SFA c 80 78 Bass 80 FD c 92 77 Geelong (Highton) 37000 FX CN 55 77 Loch 300 SF c 77 Newhaven 400 FD c 77 Nyora 600 SF c 77 Wodonga 27000 FX CN 67 77 Pyalong · 250 F c 75 Stratford 1400 SF c 92 75 Tallarook 220 s c 75 Beech worth 3750 F c 77 74 Lorne 900 FD c 100 73 Geelong (Grovedale) 12500 FX CN 92 72 Mirboo North 1250 s c 90 71 Moe 14000 SF c 100 71 Kilcunda 100 FD c 92 69 Avoca 1, 00 SF c 100 67 Cressy 200 FD c 100 67 Poowong 420 SF c 67

A10 Towns/Supply Zones Population Treatment Disinf- Water Entering Water Within ection

Katamatite 280 SF c 67 63 Archies Creek 80 FD c 92 62 Morwell 20600 SF 46 58 Trafalgar 2150 SF c 71 58 Diggers Rest 2150 SF c 57 Portarlington-St Leonards 5050 FX CN 0 57 Avenel 650 s c 56 Wallan 2500 SF c 91 52 Cowes 2000 FD c 51 Drysdale-Clifton Springs 7000 FX CN 29 46 Churchill 4800 F 46 45 Geelong (Lovely Banks) 42500 FX CN 52 43 l\lewborough 6000 SF c 42 Woodend 1600 s c 42 Wunghnu 190 SF c 42 Bannockburn District 3000 FX CN 30 41 Rhyll 300 FD c 38 Yarragon 650 SF c· 25 38 Hazelwood North 320 SF 46 33 Toora 640 SF c 100 33 Timboon 900 ASF 40 32 Yallourn North 1360 SF c . 32 Corinella 230 FD c 92 31 Port Welshpool 260 SF c 100 31 Yinnar 830 SF 46 31 Pioneer Bay 150 FD c 92 22 Riddells Creek 1600 . SF C'(b) 0 22 Kilmore 2800 SF c 91 19 Po.rt Franklin 250 SF c 100 18 Bulla 350 SF c 17 Gisborne 2500 SF c·(c) 0 9 Fairhaven 200 SF c 7 Aireys Inlet 300 SF c 4 Goornong 340 SF c· 8 3 Coronet Bay 550 FD c 92 0 Port Campbell 260 ASF 40 0

Totals: 133 661890 Treated (some not disinfected) 9 32460 Not disinfected or occasionally disinfected 124 634180 Treated and disinfected

Codes:

Treatment: Disinfection: S Sedimentation C Chlorination F Filtration CN Chloramination FX Direct Filtration Occasionally chlorinated FM Microfiltration (a} Full treatment since July 1992 A Aeration (b) Full treatment shandied with raw water since April 1993 FD Dissolved Air Flotation (c) Full treatment shandied with raw water since June 1993

A11 APPENDIX 3

TOWN/SUPPLV ZONES NOT TESTED - 1992/93

Authority Towns/Supply Zones Pcpu!ation

Swan Hill RWC Waitehie 10 Ararat SC Streatham 130 Wickliffe 130 Avoca SC Landsborough 200 Navarre 180 Redbank 150 Bet.Bet SC Bealiba 50 Dunoily 700 Tarnagulla 200 Kaniva SC Lillimur 40 Mi ram 40 Serviceton 100 Tullaroop SC Adelaide Lead 20 Alma 300 Bet Bet 60 Betley 90 Bowenvale/Timor 240 Craigie 60 Daisy Hill 110 Havelock 90 Majorca 200 Simpson 100 Tungamah SC Katandra West 120 St James 80 Benalla WB Devenish 300 Glenelg Wannon WB Merino 250 Sandford 100 Kowree WB Apsley 250 Goroke JOO Harrow 200 Mansfield WB Merrijig 100

Totals 31 4900

A12 APPENDIX 4

NEW DISINFECTION AND TREATMENT WORKS COMMISSIONED JULY 1989 TO JUNE 1993

New or improved disinfe.ction systems were New Water Treatment Plants (15) were brought into operation at the following commissioned as follows: locations:

!al· Chlorination (20) Lorne 1988/89 Birchip 1988/89 Pico la Charlton " Robinvale Cobden Lockington 1989/90 Tyers/Glengarry " Wodonga Merrigum " Barmah 1990/91 Rosedale It Euroa .. St Arnaud " Tooborac Dunkeld 1989/90 Colac 1991/92 Sunbury .. Geelong (Wurdee BolucJ " Chiltern 1990/91 Kilmore/Wallan/Wandong Hopetoun " Stratford (piped from Maffra) " Kiewa/Tangam balanga " Sunbury Sawmill Settlement Devenish 1992/93 Nullawil • Ray wood .. Quyen " Beechworth 1991/92 Beulah " Works in progress (91 that are expected to Birregurra .. . come into operation and 'further improve Apollo Bay 1992/93 drinking water quality during 1993/94 are: Goorambat Ballarat Chloramination (b) Chloramin1;1liQn (6) Beech worth Chemical flocculation Melton 1989/90 and disinfection Bungaree/Wallace .. Goornong Chloramination Castlemaine· .System .. Horsham Full treatment Gordon/Mt Egerton 1991 /92 Katandra West Chemical coagulation Warrnambool .. and settling Portland 1992/93 Malmsbury Full treatment M orwell/Churchill Chlorination (cl UV Disinfection (2) Newlyn_ Chlorination Marysville 1991 /92 St James Chemical coagulation Skipton 1992/93 and settling

A13 APPENDIX 5

TOWNS SUPPLIED BY RURAL WATER CORPORATION 1992/93

Name Population 010 Water within Disinfection distribution system la) Pggulation range 0- 9a Waitchie 10 NT Chillingol lah 20 17 Antwerp 30 0 Chinkapook 30 17 Dooen 30 0 Meringur 30 0 c Yaapeet 30 27 Macorna. 40 13 Carwarp 50 55 Glenormiston 50 91 Dingee 60 0 Lascelles 60 0 Speed 60 33 Tempy 60 8 Murrabit 70 0 Pimpinio 70 0 Werrimull 70 25 c Patchewollock 80 8 Jung 90 0 Nandaly 90 8 20 supplies 1060

!bl P212!.!l~tiQn rang~ 1 QQ-4aS Nullawil 100 71 c Marnoo 120 8 Lalbert 140 c Brim 150 0 Mitiamo 150 8 Walpeup 180 73 c Piangil 190 42 c Berriwillock 200 0 Cu Igoa 200 0 Watchem 200 17 Ultima 210 92 c Noorat 260 100 CN Simpson 270 92 c Woomelang 300 79 Woorinen 340 67 c Beulah 350 100 c Nyah 350 67 c Manangatang 370 83 c Quamba rook 400 64 c Rupanyup 450 0 Natimuk 460 0 Jeparit 480 0 22 supplies 5870

A14 Name Population 010 Water within Disinfection distribution system {~) Po~ulation range 500-999 Allansford. 500 92 c Nyah West 530 92 c Minyip 540 0 Pyramid Hill 650 15 Rainbow 660 0 Koondrook 700 75 c Hopetoun 800 83 c 7 supplies 4380 ldl P!;H2!.!lsUiQn r2ng2 1QQQ-2aaa Sea Lake 1000 92 c Wycheproof 1000 92 c Birchip 1100 64 c Cobden 1450 92 c Dimboola 1510 0 Ou yen 1700 77 c Terang 2200 96 CN 7 supplies 9960

Total 56 supplies 21240

NT - Not Tested c • Chlorination CN - Chloramination

A15 APPENDIX 6

WATER SUPPLIES CONTROLLED UNDER THE LOCAL.GOVERNMENT ACT

Authority Supply Population

City of Werribee Werribee South 1500 Shire of Arapilss Clear Lake 20 Noradjuha 25 Shire of Ararat Buangor 70 " Westmere 30 " .. Rossbridge 6 Mininera 14 Tatvoon 10 .. Taits 20 .. Crowlands NA " " Warrak NA Shire of Benalla Baddaginnie NA Shire of Bet Bet Laanecoorie 50 Shire of Dimboola Kiata 20 .. Tarranyurk 25 Shire of East Loddon Jarklin 20 " Serpentine 130 Shire of Euroa Strathbogie 100 Shire of Goulburn Kirwins Bridge NA Goulburn Weir NA Shire of Kara Kara Stuart Mill 50 Shire of Korong Bo rung 40 .. Mysia 12 .. .. Wychitella 30 Shire of Lexton Langi Kai Kai NA Shire of Wodonga Ebden 45 Shire of Yarrawonga Bundalong NA Shire of Yea. Molesworth 30

Total 28 supplies approx. 224 7

NA - Not available

A16 APPENDIX 7

WATER AUTHORITIES.SUPPL YING FOOD PROCESSING "INDUSTRIES

City of Ararat Mort1ake Water Board Shire of Ballan Orbost Water Board Ballarat Water Board Portland Water Board Campaspe Region Water Authority Robinvale Water Board Town of Camperdown Rodney Water Board Shire of Cobram Shepparton Water Board Shire of Cohuna South Gippsland Water Board Colac Region Water Authority St Arnaud Water Board Deakin Water Board Stawell Water Board Euroa-Nagambie Region Water Authority Shire of Stawell Geelong and District Water Board Sunraysia Water Board Gippsland Region Water Authority Tambo Water Board Glenelg-Wannon Water Board Tarago Water Board City of Horsham Shire of T ullaroop Korumburra Water Board Waranga Water Board Town of Kyabram Shire of Warrnambool Leongatha Water Board City of Warmambool Macalister .Water Board Rural City of Wodonga Mallacoota Water Board Wonthaggi/tnverloch Water Board Mid-Goulburn Regional Water Board Shire of Yarrawonga Mooroopna Water Board

A17 APPENDlX 8

SELECTED PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL RESUlTS - AESTHETIC PARAMETERS 1991-93 {Water authorities, excluding Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong systems)

Turbidity mOfe than five times higher ·Colour more then four times higher than thoo guideline veJue (5 NTUI guideline 1181!.l& (16 TCUJ

Town/Supply Zones Population Av.Level Town/Supply Zones Population Av. Level

Bealiba 50 143.0 Bea lib a 50 438 Katandra West 120 75.0 Nowa Nowa 230 159 Chiltern 1500 68.0 Tarnagulla 200 156 Gunbower 140 66.0 Glenorchy 160 131 St James 80 62.0 Lake Bolac 600 128 Macoma 40 59.0 Will aura 800 108 Corop 30 57.0 Glen Thompson 250 108 Colbinabbin 160 57.0 Longwood 120 105 Stanhope 600 52.0 Redbank 150 103 Murrabit 70 52.0 Chiltern 1500 90 Gl~norchy 150 46.0 Murrabit 70 86 Koondrook 700 46.0 Noojee 350 84 Werrimull 70 44.0 Moyston 200 82 Toolamba 220 38.0 Fish Creek 190 76 Ny ah 350 38.0 Great Western 200 74 Raywoorl 340 33.8 Violet Town 14·00 73 Rushworth 1200 33.0 Broadford 1600 70 Jung 90 33.0 Macorna 40 68 Tempy 60 31.0 Koondrook 700 65 Lak.e Bolac 600 31.0 Lexton 250 64 Colbinabbin 160 64 20 supplies 6570 Goorambat 1.20 61 Amphitheatre 160 61

Iron more than 10 times higher 23 supplies 9490 than guideline value (0.3 mg/LI

Town/Supply Zones Population Av.Level Mangane1& more than two times hlgh:w than t-Jideline value (0.1 mg/L) Bealiba 50 22.0 Lake Bolac 600 15.8 Town/Supply Zones Population Av. Level Katandra West 120 11.0 Walwa 120 6.0 Lexton 250 0.54 Mirboo North 1250 5.5 Sandford 100 0.25 Tarnagulla 200 5.3 Walwa 230 0.22 Lexton .250 5.1 Neerim South 520 0.20 Corop 30 5.0 Macorna 40 4.5 4 supplies 1100 Chiltern 1500 4.0 Gunbower 140 3.8 Colbinabbin 160 3.7 Murrabit 70 3.6 Tangambalanga 300 3.5 Raywood 340 3.5 Stanhope 600 3.4 Goorambat 120 3.3 St James 80 3.1

18 supplies 5970

A18 APPENDIX9

SELECTED PHYS/CHEM RESULTS· PARAMETERS OF HEALTH Si(;NIFICANCE 1991-93 (Water authorities, excl. Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong Systems)

Chloroform values more than three times the Nitrate values exceeding or approaching the guideline value (0.030 mg/Ll guideline value (40 mgll as N03 )

Town/Supply Zone Population Av. level Town/Supply Zone Population Av. level Violet Town 1400 0.293 Mortlake 1200 76 Ho,sham 13160 0.239 Penshurst 600 48 Edenhope 1000 0.236 Koroit 1460 37 Pyalong 250 0.192 Noojee 350 0.160 3 supplies 3260 Tooborac 110 0.156 Quamba took 400 0.156 Neerim South 520 0.150 Lead higher than guideline value (0.05 mg/l) Buchan 210 0.141 Buxton 360 0.140 Town/Supply Zone Population Av. level Axedale 210 0.134 Sea lake 1000 0.134 Lancefield 1500 0.073 Heathcote 2500 0.126 Kyneton 5000 0.056 Toolamba 220 0.124 Lexton 250 0.120 2 supplies 6500 Gunbower 140 0.113 Gellibrand 200 0.112 Dumbalk 210 0.110 Cobden 1450 0.107 Tungamah 350 0.105 Port Albert 500 0.103 Nyah 350 0.101 Fish Creek 190 0.092 Koondrook 700 0.092 Myrniong 180 0.092 Tallangatta 1000 0,092 Alberton 450 0.091

27 supplies 27660

A19 APPENDIX 10

WATER SUPPLIES WITH AN AVERAGE ALUMINIUM CONCENTRATION EXCEEDING TWICE THE GUIDELINE VALUE (0.2 mg/L) in 1991-93

Supply Population Aluminium Treatment (mg/U Ba rmah 350 1.87 SF Warracknabeal .3200 1.16 $ Daisy Hill 110 0.96 Nil Bacchus Marsh 13500 0.87 FX Tungamah 350 0.77 s Wunghnu 190 0.73 SF Traralgon 23000 0.72 FX Boo rt 1000 0.61 s Woodend 1600 0.58 s Numurkah 3000 0.55 SF Korumburra 3900 0.51 SF Tongala 1100 0.51 SF Yea 1100 0.44 s

13 supplies· 52400

S - Sedimentation SF - Filtration and sedimentation FX - Direct filtration

I

A20 APPENDIX 11

COMPARISON OF WATER QUALITY GUIDELINES WHO AND NHMRC

BACTERIOLOGICAL QUALITY

Guidelines for World Health Organization National Health & Medical Resee{ch Council

1984 1993 1987 1994 Proposed

Water in the distribution O Faecal Cotiforms 0 E.coli or O Faecal ~oliforms 0 Thermotolerant system Thermotolerant in 95% of samples Coliforms in 98% Colif~rms of samples

0 Coliforms in 0 Coliforms in 95% 0 Coliforma in 95% 0 Coliforms in 95% of samples of samples of samples and 95% of ssmples and lass than 3 in lass than 10 in any (Note: Exceptions occasional samples of the other 5% of apply) but not samples consecutive samples

(No separate (No separate (For closed (No separate guidelines for guidelines for catchments 90% guidelines for closed catchments) closed catchments) of samples should closed have less than 20 catchments) coliformsl

SELECTED PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL QUALITY GUIDELINES (all mg/L unless shown)

Guidelines for World Health Organization National Health & Medical Research Council

1984 1993 1987 1 994 Proposed

(a) Physical Aluminium 0.2 0.2 0 .2 0.2 Chloride 250 250 400 250 Sodium 200 200 300 180 TDS 1000 1000 1000 500 (b) Inorganic - Health Significance Arsenic 0.05 0.01 0.05 0.007 Cadmium 0.005 0.003 0 .005 0.002 Lead 0.05 0.01 0.05 0.01 Nitrate 10 (as Nitrogen) 50 (as Nitrate} 10 (as Nitrogen) 50 (as Nitrate) (c) Disinfection By-products Chloroform o·.03 0.2 - - THMe (Total) - . 0.2 0.25 (d) P ..tlcide• DDT (µg/Ll 1.0 2.0 3.0 20.0 Chlordane (µg/l) 0.3 0.2 6.0 1.0 2,4-D (µg/l) 100 30 100 30

A21 ·~· .

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Printed by Gooch & Harrod Commercial Printers on behalf of the Department of Conservation & Natural Resourcc.s Victoria.

This report is copyright. Apa.rt from any fair dealing for the purpose of study, research, criticism, or review, as permitted under the Copyright J\ cl, no part may be reproduced by any .process without written permission. ·',,. .

Address all enquiries to the Manager, Water Resources Management Dcpa.rtment of Conservation and Natural Resources 7th Floor, 232 Victoria Parade East Melbourne 3002 Victoria, Australia.

©State of Victoria, l 994.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-publication data:

Working Group on Drinking Water Quality (Vic.). Rural drinking water quality. Summary report.

ISBN 0 7306 4115 5.

I. Drinking.water - Standards - Victoria . L Victoria. Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources. 11. Title.

363 .6109945

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