Young
Indicator: Drinking Water Quality
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What the results tell us for Young
The Young Shire drinking water supply is of excellent and consistent quality.
Quality of the water supplied
Young Shire is supplied through Goldenfields Water County Council. The supply is sourced from the Murrumbidgee River and treated at the Jugiong water treatment plant. This plant has full treatment facilities, and uses chlorine disinfection for the supply. The Young Shire supply is fluoridated. The supply provides water for 8,000 people in Young Shire.
A total of 205 samples were assessed for E. coli, and over the four years one sample showed the presence of a single organism, in January 2008. This indicates a consistently excellent quality supply.
Ninety-two samples were assessed for pH and 28 samples showed a small elevation up to pH 8.8 (mean 8.0), compared to the recommended range of pH 6.5-8.5, which is of no health significance. Forty-seven samples were assessed for inorganic components. One sample showed iron and another free chlorine slightly above Guideline Values, which are of no health significance.
About the data
In 2004 the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) introduced the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, which provide the basis for quality assessment. These Guidelines have not included Total Coliforms as a measure of water quality for health purposes, as the organisms are widely present in soil and untreated water and grow in water pipes, and do not reflect the content of pathogenic organisms. Monitoring for Escherichia coli is, by contrast, particularly informative, since this organism occurs in large numbers in faeces and hence is an effective indicator of faecal contamination. It is killed by standard drinking water treatment and therefore should not occur in domestic supplies. The drinking water Guideline Value is zero organisms per 100ml sample and any detected organisms present in the water therefore exceed the guideline, and should result in an increase in the disinfection of the supply.
This remedial action should be taken until the E. coli count returns to zero.
While there are many other pathogens present in faecal contamination of water, monitoring of E. coli has been shown to be an effective and straightforward method for public health. Where the data from a water supply for this period show E .coli present, it has been commented upon for each water supply reported.
Concentrations of inorganic components of water supplies do not have such a sharp impact on health as faecal contamination. The Guideline Values reflect safe concentrations for lifetime exposure, and minor exceedences, which briefly occur, are of negligible risk to public health. Inorganic constituents become a risk to public health when they consistently exceed the Guideline Values, with the risk increasing with the concentration in the supply. Where these have occurred, they are commented upon in the appropriate section of the report. Unless there is accidental contamination of the supply, it is unlikely that any substantial variations in concentration of inorganic components will occur throughout any year.
Continuing concentrations that significantly exceed the Guideline Values require investigation and rectification. . The results included in this report are from 1 January 2005 to the time of writing, mid-November 2008.
The information assessed in this report is available on the NSW Health water database, and uses the current NHMRC Drinking Water guidelines as the reference for the analytical comparisons.
References
NSW Department of Health Drinking Water Database 2008 http://www3.health.nsw.gov.au/waterqual/samples/register.cfm.
NHMRC and NRMMC - see National Health and Medical Research Council and the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council
National Health and Medical Research Council and the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council 2004. Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. National Water Quality Management Strategy http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/publications/synopses/eh19syn.htm
