Branxholm and Derby, in the state’s North East are celebrating today with the official lifting of the Boil Water Alerts by the Department of Health and Human Services, following extensive testing completed by TasWater over several weeks.
The public health notice has been removed for both Branxholm and Derby a little over a week after the alerts for Ringarooma and Legerwood were lifted, enabling more than one thousand three hundred additional TasWater customers to receive safe, treated drinking water straight from the tap.
The water comes from the new $4 million Ringarooma water treatment plant which incorporates nano filtration, along with ultra violet and chlorine disinfection to provide water which meets Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
Construction began in mid-2015 on 30 kilometres of pipeline and later that year on the new water treatment plant which delivers treated water to reservoirs in Ringarooma, Winnaleah and Derby.
The water supplying the new treatment plant is sourced from the Upper Ringarooma Irrigation Dam.
The Ringarooma area water supply upgrade represents an investment of more than $14 million by TasWater and is part of the significant works being done to remove public health alerts from 24 regional towns in Tasmania by August 2018.
TasWater Chairman Miles Hampton welcomes today’s removal of the Boil Water Alerts on the drinking of water in Branxholm and Derby.
“We’re excited the residents of these towns can now confidently and safely drink water straight from the tap. Since the beginning of July we have seen the lifting of public health alerts in Mole Creek, Avoca, Lady Barron, Ringarooma and Legerwood. TasWater is getting on with the job of improving drinking water quality across the state.”
“We are glad that four of the five towns on the Ringarooma scheme have now come off public health alerts and we look forward to Winnaleah following suit soon with stringent testing of its water currently underway.”
“The improved water supply scheme will help the area develop its tourism and other industries.” Mr Hampton said.
For now TasWater reminds residents of Winnaleah to continue to abide by the existing restrictions on the use of drinking water.
For more information on TasWater’s progress in removing permanent public health alerts from 24 regional towns across Tasmania, visit 24glasses.com.au
TasWater