Gwydir Shire Council General Manager Max Eastcott has weighed in on when Council knew of the presence of PFAS in Warialda’s water following a T.V news report last night.
NBN News reported that Council knew of the presence of PFAS on 20th of November 2024 but Mr Eastcott says Council first became aware of the verified positive test last Tuesday morning.
Mr Eastcott says a sample was taken on 20 November but this sample was found to have been corrupted due to the mishandling of the control sample hence another test was required.
He says he really can’t see how the public could have been informed any earlier than when they did as any communication had to be approved by the NSW authorities.
Following the discovery of PFAS in Warialda’s water, NSW Health advised that continuing to drink the water in Warialda in the short term is unlikely to pose a health risk for residents, however, acknowledging community concerns, free bottled water would be provided by Hunter New England Population Health for people who would prefer to use this for drinking and cooking as the investigation takes place.
