Local Councils Vote for Transparency at TasWater

The Local Government Association of Tasmania (LGAT) has agreed to lobby the State government for the mandatory, real-time publication of Tasmania’s drinking water data on a public website.

During Wednesday’s Annual General Meeting in Launceston, the members of LGAT voted in favour of a motion brought by Dorset’s Acting Mayor, Mr. Greg Howard.

Acting Mayor Howard’s representation to LGAT follows the late Mayor Barry Jarvis’ letter to Tasmania’s Minister for Health, Mr. Michael Ferguson. In Mr. Jarvis’ final written correspondence to the State government before his sudden death, the letter voiced Dorset Council’s unanimous support for the real-time publication of Tasmania’s drinking water data on a public website.

Dorset Councillor, Mr. Dale Jessup, diligently delivered an earlier proposal to the Dorset Council after attending the public meeting in Pioneer on March 9 this year. Councillor Jessup deserves to be congratulated for his initiative to take this idea to council on behalf of all Tasmanians.

The State Manager of the DHHS, Mr. Stuart Heggie, was asked during our speech of introduction on the night of Pioneer’s public meeting, that he promise to make a representation to the State government on this matter. Our plea, on behalf of all Tasmanians, was for the real-time publication of Tasmania’s drinking water data on a public website. And our plea was for safe drinking water in Pioneer, and in every Tasmania town…

There are two protocols which allow for gaps in public knowledge when drinking data is not published on a real-time public website. TasWater publish only an annual summary of drinking water data; and the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines state that consecutive test readings above the health value must be recorded before a public alert is issued, or the Tasmanian Director of Public Health, advised.

Tasmanians have the right to know about their drinking water …

A case in point is Pioneer, in Tasmania’s north-east. For two years prior to Pioneer’s ‘Do Not Consume’ lead alert, between 2010 and 2012, a theme of lead contamination had been recorded by TasWater. Several test results were recorded above the guideline health value. Since consecutive high readings were not recorded, however, the residents of Pioneer were not advised. And TasWater was not required to alert the Tasmanian Director of Public Health.

To compound Pioneer’s problem, residents’ requests to TasWater for data, relating to lead in the sediment of Pioneer Dam, fell on deaf ears. A subsequent Right To Information request, revealed very high lead levels, ranging from 500 ug/L and 1650 ug/L, where the guideline health value is 10 ug/L.

The real-time publication of Tasmania’s drinking water data on a website, legislated for as a mandatory requirement of TasWater, is surely a natural framework to support our goal to protect our short-term and long-term health. Tasmanians have the right to know about their drinking water.

The decision by LGAT to lobby the Tasmanian State government on this matter is a bold and happy step. It is an acknowledgment that the real-time publication of drinking water data is necessary, and that the publication of data should not be considered a discretionary power of TasWater.

It is evidence that Tasmania’s local councils are, belatedly, beginning to embrace their legal responsibility as primary caretakers of our drinking water – Tasmania’s local councils are the sole shareholders and legal overseers of the corporation, TasWater.

May Premier Hodgman welcome LGAT to the table, for they are knocking on the doors of our parliament as we speak. At last! May every Tasmanian soon raise a glass…

*Tim Slade lives in Pioneer, Tasmania. A ‘Do Not Consume’ alert for lead contamination continues at Pioneer. The alert was called on November 10, 2012 – two years and eight months ago. Tasmania’s Premier Hodgman has not yet replied to written requests for a parliamentary inquiry into TasWater’s handling of Pioneer.

• Ben Cannon in Comments: … In other words. The Tasmanian Liberal Party’s approach to science and environment is the same as the Federal Liberal Party’s approach to science and the environment, and the answer to Barry’s question as far as I can tell is no announcement of more testing in the foreseeable future. I also notice in the section I just quoted an interesting contradiction between stating that all the data was “significantly below guidelines,” and that this data will be used to “identify higher risk areas.” Given that a slightly more environmentally conscious government rolled over a few years ago and axed proposed new pesticide restrictions on the orders of the TFGA, and with the roll-out of new irrigation schemes, I’d say it’s part of the familiar mantras. In this case; flush it down, shut em up.