04 Feb 2025
Water quality testing all-clear for Tullah
TasWater will resume Tullah Water Treatment Plant operations after extensive sampling shows no impact to the water supply.
TasWater has today received further water quality testing results that indicate the oil spill at Lake Rosebery has not impacted the sub-surface intake pipe for the Tullah Water Treatment Plant.
With these results, TasWater plans to resume producing drinking water at Tullah from tomorrow.
TasWater Incident Controller Matt Jordan said the impact to the water catchment had been assessed in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and the Department of Health.
“Multiple intake water samples taken from the site have not detected any contamination,” Mr Jordan said.
“Given that, and the fact that our intake is approximately 26 metres below the water surface and some distance from the shore, we are confident we can safely resume supply at Tullah, with a number of operational precautions in place.”
The treatment plant will be run manually by onsite operators to allow for additional system checks, and increased water quality sampling will continue for the next four weeks.
If circumstances changed this could result in another shutdown of the plant and the resumption of water carting.
Standard monitoring processes ensure that water entering TasWater reservoirs has been regularly tested for safe consumption in line with the Tasmanian Drinking Water Guidelines. If any tests identify a risk, this water will not be distributed to the community.
Water supplies to Tullah customers have been constantly maintained through water carting throughout the month.
“We appreciate everyone’s efforts to conserve water while we continue to deal with the impact of the oil spill,” Mr Jordan said.
“We will continue to work with the Department of Health to ensure that any risks to public health are mitigated.”
Across the state, TasWater manages 59 drinking water systems to supply drinking water to more than 200,000 households and businesses. Each system is monitored from catchment to tap to ensure the best quality water is provided to the customer.