Boil Water Alert for Enngonia

Bourke Council General Manager Ross Earl Photo: TWH

A boil water notice has been issued for Enngonia after tests revealed the presence of E.coli bacteria.

Bourke Shire Council General Manager Ross Earl said boil water alerts are not normally issued until positive results for E.coli from a second test, but Council was taking no chances.

“At the moment we have an abnormal reading so we are asking people to boil water and for kids, give them bottled water to take to school,” he said.

“We’ll do another test next week but in the meantime we’ve taken this action to mitigate any problems they may have.

“Make sure water is boiled, cooled and then put into a water bottle and refrigerated.”

“Enngonia’s water supply is non-potable. The bacteria itself is generally not harmful but the presence of these bacteria indicates that the water may be contaminated with organisms that may cause disease.”

Some E.coli bacteria strains can cause severe abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting.

The Enngonia water will be given the all clear if further tests fail to find more bacteria.