UPDATED: NT Health has issued a boil water alert for Darwin and Palmerston after Power and Water asked residents to immediately reduce their water usage following the Darwin River Dam pump station shutting down around 4:30pm Monday due to ongoing heavy rains in the region and flash flooding, in what the operator has labelled an “unprecedented situation” which could take up to two days to get back on line.
The boil water alert was issued Tuesday morning, shortly after Power and Water’s acting chief executive appeared on local radio to plead with the public to reduce their water consumption until the pumping station could be repaired, which he said could take one to two days.
Substantial flooding on Monday caused the pump station and associated equipment to shut down, with Monday’s flash flooding pushing the dam to more than 110 per cent capacity. The dam wall has not been impacted, Power and Water said in a statement late Monday evening.
“This is an unprecedented situation and we have never seen this volume of water in the dam before,” the statement said.
“Our priority is to restore the pump station and associated equipment as quickly as is safely possible and we are investigating operating the dam with generators.
“While we work on fixing the dam, we’re asking Darwin residents to reduce their water use.”
Power and Water called for residents to switch off any irrigation, take shorter showers, turn the taps off while brushing teeth and ensuring the taps are turned off at all times.
The company said it will activate bore fields at McMinns and Howard East to help “partially meet demand”, but said it would not be enough to meet “the shortfall of the dam being offline”.
“So, we are asking Darwin residents to please reduce the amount of water you use,” the statement said.
“We have a team of experts working to fix the dam as quickly as is safely possible and thank Territorians for pulling together at this time.”
NT Health said in a statement Tuesday afternoon that activating the reserve bores has created a possible “risk of contamination to the water due to the proximity of onsite wastewater systems in the area”.
“The boil water alert applies to all water dispensed from midday today [Tuesday] and to people who are connected to the main water system, and/or receive a Power and Water Corporation bill,” NT Health said.
“NT Health is requesting people in Darwin and Palmerston use cooled, boiled water or bottled water as a precaution for drinking, preparing food, preparing baby food and brushing teeth.”
NT Health later added that for areas that have “zippy water units”, boiled water can be used for drinking once cooled. It also warned not to use the cold water filter on the unit.
“If you are unsure about your water supply, please boil before use,” the statement said.
Power and Water acting chief executive John Pease made the local radio media rounds Tuesday morning, stating that it could take between one to two days to get the water cleared out and the pump station operating again.
He said if everyone reduces water consumption, further restrictions would not have to be implemented “and we’ll all get through this”. Mr Pease said the operator would be providing updates when they become available.
I have commented on power & Water social media posts asking how many days water does the affect region have, no response so far.
Naturally, having to boil water, let it cool then store would place higher demand on available water than if it was on demand.