In New South Wales, water that runs fresh from the faucet has been observed to have a brown color. According to the New York Post, several families find the brown tap water disgusting. Nevertheless, authorities have given the signal that drinking this brown tap water is fine.
Brown Tap Water Found in Moama, NSW
Residents of Moama have been notified that the brown and discolored water will not go to its usual state for a couple of weeks.
This occurrence has forced several to opt for bottled water. However, doing so does not address the core issue.
How Moama Residents Are Dealing With the Discolored Tap Water
Moama resident Beck Angel shared that they haven't been drinking the water. However, more than that, they also do not want to use brown tap water for washing because of its disgusting looks and color.
Other than that, 7News reports how a mother from Moama felt anxious about using the discolored water to bathe her thirteen-week-old child. Hence, she kept going to her parent's place to wash the baby. She shared how the discolored water looked like it came straight from a river.
Being a nurse herself, Dixon also shared how she knew that minute parasites dwelled in this unsanitary water. Hence, she was not willing to take any chances.
She also mentioned that she had to purchase bottled drinking water and wash white laundry at her parents' house.
What Made the Tap Water Brown?
Several regional communities around the Murray Darling and Goulburn Rivers had experienced similar circumstances. This took place after there were continuous periods of heavy rainfall that filled dams and catchments.
According to News.com.au, the Murray River Council mentioned that river floodwaters affected the filtered and clean water supply and that these effects may last for weeks. 7News also notes that floodwater may turn tap water brown or even black because of a stir-up in organic matter and sediments.
7News also shares that this regional community had to recover from one of the most devastating floods it experienced in the last thirty years.
Last October, residents were told by the Murray River Council to boil tap water before drinking. However, this was later on lifted, and the council reported that the current discolored water was not harmful to drink.
Moreover, a spokesperson from the council shared that though there was evident discoloration of filtered water, the water is still at par with the standards of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
News.com.au shares that there may be other succeeding observations because of this evident discoloration. U-bends in the toilet could seem quite murky. Water in the bath may appear unclear. White laundry may not remain white.
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