00:00 Welcome to the Ass Valley.
00:10 We're an hour's drive from Canberra and we've got worse water than if you live in the Great
00:16 Artesian Basin.
00:17 Most people don't drink the town water and for 16 days this year were ordered not to,
00:23 unless they boiled it to make it safe enough to drink.
00:26 But some didn't get the message.
00:28 I was in hospital in Canberra for a hip operation.
00:32 When I came out back to here in Beinalong, I wasn't aware there was a water alert.
00:39 They didn't publicise it that well.
00:43 Garth Chisholm has lived in Beinalong for 25 years.
00:46 He's seen the town's water supply affected by both drought and flooding rains.
00:52 After about two or three days of being home I was so ill I couldn't keep anything down
00:57 for days.
00:58 I lost about 11 kilos in about a week.
01:04 Like many, Garth avoids using local water and mainly relies on rainwater tanks, but
01:09 couldn't reconnect to them during February's boil water alert.
01:13 They found that I had been affected by Aromona species bacteria, which the doctor explained
01:22 to me is usually caused by dirty water or brackish water.
01:27 He wasn't alone.
01:28 During this time, one local doctor says she saw an increase in patients with gastro-like
01:33 symptoms.
01:34 I would say that there's an uptick of about 15 to 20 per cent in terms of concerned patients
01:39 presenting to the medical practice with worries that say a new onset condition might relate
01:43 to the drinking water.
01:44 Most of the area's water problems begin with the ageing Yass water filtration plant, responsible
01:50 for servicing Yass, Beinalong, Bowning and Murrumbateman.
01:54 It hasn't been upgraded in almost 35 years.
01:58 Any time it rains heavily, the plant becomes overwhelmed.
02:01 It's very urgent because any extreme weather events can cause another boil water alert.
02:08 So people are very, very tired of this.
02:12 Both the Yass Valley Council and the New South Wales Government concede it's not acceptable,
02:18 and blame the inaction on limited funding.
02:20 I'm really sympathetic to the community in Yass about how long this has taken.
02:24 They've been dealing with this for decades.
02:26 I wish it was as easy as me just getting out there with a shovel or riding a bulldozer
02:30 and getting to work.
02:31 The Council and the State Government have committed around $17 million to fix the plant,
02:37 $20 million short of what's needed.
02:41 Last year, the Federal Government rejected an appeal to help fund the remainder.
02:45 It is true that Commonwealth funding required a final business case and that paperwork hadn't
02:51 been done.
02:52 The Council has since had to reapply.
02:54 Even if the Yass Valley Council's federal funding application is successful, it's unclear
02:59 if it will completely cover the balance needed to fix the aging water treatment plant, or
03:03 how long the urgent repairs will take.
03:06 If they're denied, the local council says they'll have to take out a loan and pass on
03:10 the cost to local residents by increasing their water rates.
03:13 Some residents say there's an easier solution.
03:16 They want the $50 million borrowed by the Council for their new chambers and library
03:20 to be redirected to fixing the plant.
03:23 But the Council says this loan can't be transferred.
03:27 Isn't having access to safe drinking water a human right?
03:30 Well, so is having public libraries.
03:33 I hope that it's a wake-up call for them to get funding and get the treatment plant and
03:42 everything done and get on with it because it desperately needs it.
03:47 A question of priorities in the face of a rising problem.
03:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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