Urgent investigation needed into Sydney’s drinking water
Greens MP and water spokesperson Cate Faehrmann says the NSW Government must urgently carry out a full independent investigation into Sydney’s drinking water after more revelations that cancer-linked forever chemicals have been detected in Sydney’s drinking water catchment.
New studies have also found alarming levels of PFAS in the bodies of platypuses in NSW, in areas where there is no known PFAS hotspot nearby.
In December 2023, the World Health Organisation concluded that forever chemicals are carcinogenic. As a result, the United States introduced maximum levels of four parts per trillion (4ppt), but noted that there is no level of exposure without a risk of adverse health effects.
”The Government needs to come out today and assure Sydneysiders that their drinking water is safe, and if it isn’t, what steps it will take to urgently restore a safe water supply? These latest revelations also show that Sydney Water and the EPA aren’t being straight with the public and therefore a full independent investigation is needed,” said Cate Faehrmann.
“The levels of PFAs permitted under Australia’s drinking water guidelines are at 560ppt - 140 times the maximum level allowed in the US. It’s reckless in the extreme for the government to continue to allow forever chemicals deemed carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation to be present in our drinking water.
“I wrote to the Health and Water Ministers back in June seeking urgent independent testing make the results public - they rejected that request. However, in the meantime, Sydney Water has started carrying out monthly monitoring of ‘potentially impacted areas’, all the while failing to adequately inform then public.
“Sydney Water claims that all the samples it tested were below the Australian drinking water guidelines - but that doesn’t mean the water is safe to drink. There are no safe levels of exposure to PFAS. The World Health Organisation has tied forever chemicals to cancer, interference with hormones and the immune system, and developmental effects in children.
“On its website, Sydney Water claims that the Australian guidelines for safe levels of PFAS in drinking water are “underpinned by available scientific knowledge”. That’s just not true.
“The Federal Government must urgently bring forward its review of Australia’s drinking water guidelines, which have not been updated since 2022.
“The Environment Minister must explain how the Environment Protection Authority has known about widespread PFAS contamination in NSW for years yet failed to do anything about it. This is another example of its complete failure to do its job - to protect the environment and the people of NSW,” Cate Faehrmann said.