Shadow Minister for Water Steph Cooke has voiced concern that Narrabri’s water security has been impacted just weeks before summer arrives despite ample warnings from Narrabri Shire Council.
Council escalated water restrictions from level two to level four within a week, following a sharp and ongoing drop in the town’s primary water storage levels.
Since July, only one of Narrabri’s three bores has been actively supplying the town’s water network due to the detection of PFAS at levels that exceed the new Australian drinking water guidelines.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water (DCCEEW) responded with an emergency grant of $50,000 to enable the council to install a larger pump at their only active bore.
Ms Cooke said the grant will do nothing to ensure the community’s long-term water security ahead of what the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting will be a hot and dry summer for inland NSW.
“Instead of equipping this community with the resources and infrastructure they had been calling for since last year, the NSW Labor government has waited for Narrabri council to enact a level four water restriction before offering any degree of financial support, and it’s a miserly amount at best,” Ms Cooke said.
“I am urgently calling on the Minister to order the immediate delivery of clean drinking water by truck to the Narrabri community.
“This is crucial to alleviate pressure on the Elizabeth Street bore, which has previously tested positive for PFAS contamination, but at levels below drinking standards.
“We must also see expedited plans for a new water treatment plant. The NSW Labor government’s ongoing patch-up approach since taking office has failed to address the critical need for new water infrastructure.
“Timely investment is even more imperative now that the estimated costs of water and sewage projects have continued to skyrocket.”
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