Stinking orange tap water leaves residents of major country town unable to use it for drinking or bathing as they complain of ‘disgusting’ sulphur smell
- Residents of Yass are forced to drink and bathe in orange water
- Discoloured water has a sulphur smell making residents ‘sick to their stomach’
- Many residents are forced to drive to nearby towns to buy clean bottled water
Residents of Yass are kicking up a stink over the state of tap water in the town, with its orange hue and sulphur smell making it unsuitable for drinking and even bathing.
The people of Yass, 50 kilometres north of Canberra, have been forced to spend large amounts on bottled water or drive to other towns to collect their supply due to the ‘disgusting’ condition of the tap product.
Resident Andrea James described the water’s sulphur stench as a ‘sick to your stomach smell’ that continues to distress her young daughter.
Residents of Yass have been forced to bathe in orange-brown water for years (pictured)
‘Its a basic human right to have clean water and she cant even go get clean water,’ she told ACA.
The orange-brown discolouration and smell have residents at wits’ end, with some claiming the water quality is something you’d expect in a third world country, not a short distance from the national capital.
Gale Reed said she has refused to drink the water since she moved to Yass three years ago.
Yass residents have described the orange-brown waters to have a sulphur smell (pictured)
Some residents have resorted to buying bottled water (pictured, left) to drink and shower as Yass’ supply was described as ‘disgusting’ (pictured, right)
‘Everyday in Yass is a lottery. Some days it’s (the water) clean, but it’s always questionable’, she said.
Ms Reed said the water reminds her of a swamp and buys bottled water weekly from nearby towns for her drinking and cooking.
The Yass resident doesn’t want her grandchildren growing accustomed to such poor quality water, and is encouraging other residents to pressure authorities into making much-needed changes.
‘We’ve put up with it for years, but we don’t have to,’ she said.
Yass Valley Council’s original $31.2million revamp to the water treatment plant has been postponed for two years by the NSW Department of Planning and Industry.
Local Mayor Rowena Abbey said the department wants to upgrade the existing plant, but the council have called in independent assessors.
The mayor admits that the smell and look of the water isn’t pleasant, but assures the town they will spend the required money to solve the problem.
Though unpleasant to smell and even look at, the water was not considered unsafe for human consumption.
The nearby town of Gulgong in NSW Central Tablelands has experienced the same problems since 2017, with residents saying it had stained their bathroom tiles orange.
The Yass Valley fills resident’s bathes in discoloured water (pictured)
Mayor Rowena Abbey admits that the look and smell of Yass Valley’s water isn’t pretty (pictured, left), but assures residents the council will find a solution for the town