‘Unheard of’ side effect of bushfire season hitting Aussie homes
The impact on water quality is very unusual and people affected have been advised not to drink the tap water.
As bushfires rage along Australia's east coast, forcing the evacuation of thousands and threatening hundreds of homes, concerns have been raised over "black" drinking water that's oozed from taps in fire-ravaged areas.
Earlier this week, residents in Mackay in Queensland's north reported "brown and black" water spurting from their taps, with many refusing to use it over health concerns.
'Black and brown' tap water concerning Aussies
It's since emerged that the cause of the discolouration was due to an intense influx of water stripping decades-old piping of manganese, that had accumulated on the inside. Authorities were then forced to "scrub and flush clean" kilometres of pipelines, with scorching conditions expected to continue into the weekend, worsening the quality.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Associate Professor Ian Wright of the University of Western Sydney, who is also a former Sydney Water employee of 20 years, said this was the first time he'd heard of such an occurrence.
'Very unusual' scenario, water expert says
"This is really, really unusual, because this is actually from firefighting putting huge stress on, and basically sending huge volumes of water through the pipes — it's actually dislodged metals from within them," Mr Wright told Yahoo.
"It wasn't what I expected at all, but it does just goes to show that extreme weather and firefighting can cause so many different types of problems. This is one I've actually never heard of, and I've been in the water industry a long time."
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Professor Wright said that often, when tap water turns brown in households it's can be attributed to "burning and ash getting into the water system". He explained that as fires continue to spread around the coast, particularly ahead of what's been touted as a dangerous summer, it's "absolutely" possible that a similar scenario could occur in other parts of the country — including NSW.
"You know, like a lot of cities, we have some very, very old pipes — and old doesn't mean bad — but some old pipes can form what they call biofilm," Wright said.
"Biofilm is like a layer inside tiny little micro organisms, or some kind of corrosion, sometimes even some sediment can build up in pipes. It can happen. It absolutely can happen. I have never heard of this before in association with firefighting but it doesn't surprise me."
Manganese is a trace mineral that's essential to human bodies in small amounts. Because people can't make it, we must obtain through food or supplements. Mussels, for example, are high in manganese. Professor Wright said in this instance, people in affected areas should avoid the substance, as it's harmful in high doses. Manganese toxicity mainly affects the central nervous system and can cause tremors, muscle spasms, tinnitus, hearing loss, and the feeling of being unsteady on one’s feet, the US National Institutes of Health says.
In recent years, particularly during the devastating 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfire season, water quality in metro areas, including Sydney, was impacted by ash infiltrating dams. Professor Wright encouraged Australians, when it comes to questionable water in the home, to adopt a common sense approach if that happens again.
'Adopt a common sense approach'
"If there's ever any brown water coming from my taps, I let the tap run for a few minutes and if it's still discoloured, give the water authority a call and find out what's happening," he said.
"I wouldn't drink until I until I was absolutely certain that it was safe to do so."
With fires impacting communities along the NSW-Queensland border, WaterNSW has advised there are "currently no fires impacting the catchments or dams" operated by the body.
"Within the Greater Sydney catchments WaterNSW uses sophisticated monitoring technology to track water quality. In the event of bushfires that potentially impact our storages, we implement strategies to ensure the best quality raw water is supplied to Sydney Water for treatment," a spokesperson told Yahoo.
Sydney Water said it has "scientists who test our water supply regularly" to "continue to deliver some of the cleanest drinking water in the world."
Fires ravage east coast
Currently, a total fire ban is in place across 80 per cent of Queensland.
Two people have so far been killed in recent blazes and dozens of homes destroyed. Areas copping the brunt include dozens of rural localities south of Brisbane trickling down to northern NSW.
Firefighters have travelled from across the country and New Zealand to try and contain the out-of-control infernos, many of which are as of Wednesday still burning.
The early start to fire season comes as the country recorded its driest September on record and as the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts months of hot weather and below average rainfall.
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