Australia: Diarrhoea in Central Highlands
town due to E. coli in water
Source of Article: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,27574,24892419-3102,00.html
Brian Williams
January
09, 2009 11:00pm
NO
wonder residents of the small central Queensland
town of Bluff
have been getting diarrhoea. E. coli has been found
in their water supply.
Central Highlands Mayor
Peter Maguire yesterday warned residents to boil water before drinking
because of the presence of the bacteria.
On Thursday a Bluff
resident said anyone
drinking the water was coming down with gastric complaints, a situation
he blamed on the discharge of contaminated water from the Ensham
Coal mine into the local river system.
Cr Maguire said the council was flushing the system of any undesirable water.
"This will be conducted over the coming days and residents are
encouraged to continue boiling water," he said.
On Tuesday the council said its water was safe after a mechanical failure at
the Blackwater water treatment plant allowed
partially untreated water to enter the supply network.
E. coli can
produce gastroenteritis with vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhoea
and can be particularly bad in infants.
Ensham
chief executive Peter Westerhuis said up to 500 megalitres might have to be discharged after heavy rain
but the discharge was well within Environmental
Protection Agency conditions.
Rural lobby group AgForce
said the Government's policy of issuing permits to miners to discharge
contaminated water was a double standard, given it was regulating against
farm run-off.
A spokeswoman for Acting Sustainability Minister Andrew Fraser said the mining
industry was strictly regulated while farming run-off was not.
The Government sought to put controls on farmers just as other sectors faced.
"If AgForce is suggesting that the same
environmental licensing requirements be placed on farms that are placed on
mines - including seeking licences for discharge
and monitoring of any impacts - then we welcome this change of heart,"
she said.
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