'It looks like Coke': NSW residents disgusted by 'gross' tap water
Residents of a NSW town are calling for council to take action on murky, black water which “looks like Coke”.
People from Lithgow, in the NSW Central Tablelands, have started a Change.org petition demanding local government “rebuild Lithgow's failing water delivery system”.
“I am sick to death of throwing away whites even after I have soaked them,” one woman wrote on the petition.
A resident of nearby McKellars Park wrote on Facebook her kids had to skip having a bath due to the dark, murky water in the tub.
Another added her bath was “black this morning, not nice” while another complained her tub water was “milky white”.
Mum Michelle Potts told Nine.com.au she recently ran a bath for her baby daughter but when she came back the water was “gross”.
“It looked like Coke, that is how dark the colour of the water was,” she told the site.
A resident known as Ailette told 2GB the water stained her dog’s dishes.
She added she won’t drink the water either and has started buying it from the supermarket.
Lithgow City Council told Nine.com.au the water doesn’t pose a health risk and its colour is caused by a combination of iron and manganese sediment.
Mayor Ray Thompson said last week Council worked on “the completion of a number of water main and service repairs”.
“The community has experienced main breaks in the areas of Pillans Road and Wrights Road, as well as service failures in Wentworth Street and Wrights Road,” he said.
“Staff have also been working towards the cleanup of storm damage throughout Lithgow, Clarence and the Wolgan Valley, Capertee Valley and Hartley. Lastly, works have been undertaken to remove problematic plastic wheel stops at the Blast Furnace, Rail Interchange and Wallerawang Bakery car parks.”
Dark, murky water has affected residents in a number of areas in regional NSW.
Taya Biggs of Menindee, far west NSW, complained of “disgusting water” in January last year.
A resident in Dubbo also complained of dirty water in September.
A Dubbo Regional Council spokeswoman told Yahoo News Australia in a statement the cloudy water is due to maintenance and it was a “common occurrence”.
“This is just air in the line that causes the water to go milky/cloudy, this will clear up in a couple of minutes and the water will still meet Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and NSW Health guidelines.
“If people experience this they just need to run the tap for a couple of minutes and it will clear up. This has nothing to do with the upcoming increase of water restrictions.”
Yahoo News Australia has contacted Lithgow City Council for comment.
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