Boil water alert lifted for Scamander

TasWater and the Department of Health and Human Services announced on Tuesday the boil water alert for Scamander had been lifted.

Removal of the ban means for the first time in nearly 10 years residents and visitors can drink water directly from the tap. 

TasWater chief executive Michael Brewster said it’d been far too long between drinks straight from the tap for the people of Scamander. 

Scamander was the first of 24 communities across Tasmania to be provided drinkable tap water.

“Already 99 percent of our customers receive water they can drink straight from the tap but the rest - these 24 towns – remain equally important to us,” Mr Brewster said. 

“TasWater has undertaken significant work to achieve the lifting of the boil water alert including a new pre-treatment process at the water plant, improvement in the reticulation network, and new main supply line to the town’s reservoir.”

A campaign called 24 Glasses was established by TasWater to initiate a consultation process with the communities affected by the boil water alert. 

TasWater committed to providing drinkable tap water for those communities within the next two years. 

“After all the measures TasWater has put in place, the Department of Health and Human Services is satisfied Scamander’s water treatment plant can consistently produce water which meets Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, ending the requirement to boil water before drinking it,” Mr Brewster said.

The 24 Glasses project is part of a plan to increase infrastructure spending on water and sewerage across the state to $1.5 billion in the next 10 years.