Blue Mountains residents are celebrating an important win for community health and the environment after the NSW Government announced they will filter ‘forever chemicals’ from local drinking water.
An advanced PFAS treatment system is being installed at the Cascade Walter Filtration Plant in Katoomba, which supplies drinking water to more than 40,000 residents.
In June, PFAS levels at the plant were found to be about 300 times higher than Sydney’s main drinking water source. While the levels discovered at the plant met Australian guidelines for safe drinking water, they were higher than the new limits set by the United States, which aim for zero levels of the synthetic chemicals PFOA and PFOS in drinking water.
Blue Mountains residents have been deeply concerned for their community’s health since news of the water contamination broke. Exposure to high levels of PFAS have been linked with long-term health problems including increased risk of certain cancers, reduced kidney function, hormone and immune system changes, and lower birth weight and developmental delays in children.
On behalf of our client, Blue Mountains resident Jon Dee, we wrote to Sydney Water, NSW EPA, and the state and federal health ministers asking that they upgrade water treatment facilities in the Blue Mountains; conduct additional water testing; and adopt higher safety standards aligned more with those used in the US.
“This is a great win for the Blue Mountains community. With EDO’s help, we’ve pushed the government to reduce our community’s exposure to forever chemicals.”
Jon Dee
“The NSW Government’s announcement that the Cascade Water Filtration System will be upgraded is a positive step. Communities should be able to have confidence that their drinking water is clean and safe. EDO will continue to support communities seeking better regulation and greater transparency around the quality assurance testing of harmful pollutants in drinking water catchments.”
EDO Managing Lawyer Rana Koroglu
