Moorabool Water Treatment Plant – Supplies about 90,000 residents in Geelong area with drinking water

This graph highlights PFAS detections in raw water at the Moorabool Water Treatment Pre-Treatment. The average level detected was 4.286ng/L over a 6 year period, 6 positive detections and 8 ‘negative’ detections. Barwon Water also test for PFOA which has not been detected. The Australian Drinking Water Guideline for PFOS+PFHxS during this period was 70ng/L, meaning than the average PFOS+PFHxS detection was 6% of the guideline level. Due to this low level Barwon Water would have dismissed these detections as being ‘insignificant’. However, with the new October 2024 proposed guidelines for PFOS to be reduced to 4ng/L and PFHxS to 30ng/L, there would be 5 PFOS+PFHxS detections in breach of the proposed Australian Guideline, with three or four detections breaching the guideline by 3-4 times. This should then mean that Barwon Water would need to test drinking water in the reticulated water supply. Note that Barwon Water did not start testing for PFAS chemicals at Moorabool until December 2017, yet PFAS had been detected in sediment at Moorabool Water Treatment Plant 5 years earlier with results published in March 2014.

Site at Moorabool Water Treatment Plant October 2012

PFOS was detected in sediment at 1.8ug/kg in a 2014 published study of surface water and sediment contamination Assessment – Fiskville Training Centre by Cardro Lane Piper. PFAS chemicals were not detected in surface water at the site.

Moorabool Water Treatment Plant

https://www.barwonwater.vic.gov.au/water-and-waste/water-quality

20/10/17: <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS + PFOS)

27/10/17: <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS + PFOS)

14/11/17: <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS + PFOS)

18/12/17: <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS + PFOS)

15/10/18: <0.02 (PFOA), 0.013 (PFHxS + PFOS)

7/3/18: <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS + PFOS)

18/8/21: <0.02 (PFOA), 0.016 (PFHxS + PFOS)

27/8/21: <0.02 (PFOA), 0.007 (PFHxS + PFOS)

30/12/21: <0.02 (PFOA), 0.006 (PFHxS + PFOS)

1/4/22: <0.02 (PFOA), 0.003 (PFHxS + PFOS)

21/6/22: <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS + PFOS)

7/10/22: <0.02 (PFOA), 0.015 (PFHxS + PFOS)

21/12/23:  <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS+PFOS)

5/3/24:  <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS+PFOS)

 

2012-2024: Moorabool Water Treatment Plant

Moorabool Water Treatment Plant – Supplies about 90,000 residents in Geelong area with drinking water

This graph highlights PFAS detections in raw water at the Moorabool Water Treatment Pre-Treatment. The average level detected was 4.286ng/L over a 6 year period, 6 positive detections and 8 ‘negative’ detections. Barwon Water also test for PFOA which has not been detected. The Australian Drinking Water Guideline for PFOS+PFHxS during this period was 70ng/L, meaning than the average PFOS+PFHxS detection was 6% of the guideline level. Due to this low level Barwon Water would have dismissed these detections as being ‘insignificant’. However, with the new October 2024 proposed guidelines for PFOS to be reduced to 4ng/L and PFHxS to 30ng/L, there would be 5 PFOS+PFHxS detections in breach of the proposed Australian Guideline, with three or four detections breaching the guideline by 3-4 times. This should then mean that Barwon Water would need to test drinking water in the reticulated water supply. Note that Barwon Water did not start testing for PFAS chemicals at Moorabool until December 2017, yet PFAS had been detected in sediment at Moorabool Water Treatment Plant 5 years earlier with results published in March 2014.

Site at Moorabool Water Treatment Plant October 2012

PFOS was detected in sediment at 1.8ug/kg in a 2014 published study of surface water and sediment contamination Assessment – Fiskville Training Centre by Cardro Lane Piper. PFAS chemicals were not detected in surface water at the site.

Moorabool Water Treatment Plant

https://www.barwonwater.vic.gov.au/water-and-waste/water-quality

20/10/17: <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS + PFOS)

27/10/17: <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS + PFOS)

14/11/17: <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS + PFOS)

18/12/17: <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS + PFOS)

15/10/18: <0.02 (PFOA), 0.013 (PFHxS + PFOS)

7/3/18: <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS + PFOS)

18/8/21: <0.02 (PFOA), 0.016 (PFHxS + PFOS)

27/8/21: <0.02 (PFOA), 0.007 (PFHxS + PFOS)

30/12/21: <0.02 (PFOA), 0.006 (PFHxS + PFOS)

1/4/22: <0.02 (PFOA), 0.003 (PFHxS + PFOS)

21/6/22: <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS + PFOS)

7/10/22: <0.02 (PFOA), 0.015 (PFHxS + PFOS)

21/12/23:  <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS+PFOS)

5/3/24:  <0.02 (PFOA), <0.02 (PFHxS+PFOS)