Elmore residents face fourth day without safe drinking water after treatment plant fault

The northern Victorian town of Elmore remains without safe tap water for the fourth day in a row after a fault at the local water treatment plant on Monday.

Local water authority Coliban Water said that while the operation of the Elmore Water Treatment Plant has since been restored, the current health alert would remain in place as it awaited the result from water sample testing from the Department of Health.

“We need two clear samples for the water quality,” Chief assets and operations officer Danny McLean said.

“We’re testing for E. coli, so we can understand the health of the system. We’ll work with the Department of Health to make sure the water is safe to drink.

“The system itself is back online. There are some things residents can do with the water in the system. They can do their washing, they can bathe, they can do their dishes, they just can’t ingest it.”

For the Elmore Bakery, in what would normally be its busiest days of the year its doors have remained shut.

“We can’t use tap water for any food production. We can’t wash fruit and vegetables, so it’s caused a real issue,” owner Nathan Bowes said.

“In the 14 years I’ve been here, this is a first.”

Mr Bowes estimated that the closure has cost the business thousands of dollars. 

“It would have been a massive day [on Wednesday]. We were expecting 500 customers or more.”

“It’s quite a big loss for us.”

Coliban Water crews have since installed water tanks at the bakery and local hotel.

Investigation opened

Mr McLean said an alarm fault had caused the plant to stop on Christmas Day, which then failed to restart.

An investigation into the cause of the alarm was underway.

“The reasons and issues of why that’s occurred will come to light over the coming days when we do a further investigation,” he said.

The water authority will post updates on its website twice a day.

Elmore resident Viv Spizzica said it was challenging for families and the elderly, especially over the Christmas break. 

“It’s very hard when you have a three-year-old in the house, who you used to tell them to wash their hands all the time,” Ms Spizzica said.

“There should have been more door knocking. The elderly can’t travel all the time to get water.”

Ms Spizzica said the wet weather had been useful for some.

“A lot of people have put out buckets in the rain and they’re using that water.”

“In a small town like this, everybody pulls together.”