The Tasmanian Greens today called for action to assist in the installation of water tanks for the residents of Pioneer due to levels of lead being recorded in the local water supply at unacceptably high levels.
Greens Member for Bass, Kim Booth MP, said that this contamination issue was discovered eight months ago and still the people of Pioneer were living under third world water conditions.
“Test results acquired from TasWater have shown that in June 2013, lead levels of the Pioneer Dam outlet were found to be 50 times that of safe health guidelines,” said Mr Booth.
“Access to a safe water supply is a fundamental human right and not only is this currently denied to Pioneer residents, but worse still, if they use the reticulated supply, they place their lives on hold.”
“You can basically say that the residents of Pioneer do not have a water supply as the one in place is currently based around a third world village well model except that some third world countries supply safer water than what Pioneer has at the moment.”
“Tasmanians deserve a reliable and safe water supply and if the Pioneer Dam cannot be cleaned up to remove the lead contamination, then urgent action is needed.”
“Residents are currently forced to travel to a central water tank in the middle of the town, where they fill up 10L plastic containers to transport back to their homes.”
“This arrangement is a third world solution, impossible for the elderly or sick to use and it should certainly not be seen as an acceptable solution.”
“This is a matter of equity. Tasmanians pay for and expect a reliable water supply and in this instance the Minister is failing the residents of Pioneer,” Mr Booth said.
