FOR more than 60 years, residents north of Dungog have taken their drinking water from the 85-kilometre pipeline that snakes it way through their properties to Newcastle.
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Drawing from just up the road, the water main runs from Chichester Dam to North Lambton and is responsible for supplying almost 40 per cent of Hunter Water customers.
But a plan to cut off the domestic town water supply to properties at the end of the line, north of Dungog, has outraged residents who say it will cost them more and affect everything from their usage to property prices.
Bandon Grove property owner Jenni Denniss said residents were simply asking to retain the service they have. “Hunter Water is trying to take away our permanent drinking water supply,” she said. “We’re not asking for anything except to keep what we have always had.”
Hunter Water has proposed two options to the 69 properties supplied by water meters along the last section of the Chichester Trunk Gravity Main pipeline. Replace their domestic supply with rainwater tanks or install filtration devices that have to be maintained and serviced by the residents.
None of those options appeal to the majority of affected residents. It’s estimated the change will impact more than 200 people, with one water meter along the pipeline supplying 23 dwellings.
Ms Denniss – who estimates her water bill will double – said a claim that the water presents a health risk because it is untreated has bemused locals.
“We've been drinking it for decades and it’s never been a problem, we don’t understand what has suddenly changed,” she said.
Because Hunter Water’s treatment plant is at Dungog, residents north of the township receive “raw” or untreated chlorinated water.
Hunter Water’s spokeswoman said the properties would remain connected to the pipeline for farming and irrigation usage. She said the raw water did not meet the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
“To date, Hunter Water’s dealings with the vast majority of property owners has been positive and cooperative as we work to deliver either a tank or onsite system at their home,” she said.
Ms Denniss said many residents felt they had no option but to sign onto the new system or risk having their water supply “cut off completely”.
The cost of building a reticulated scheme to service the properties is estimated at $7 million, or $100,000 per property, which Hunter Water described as “not economically viable”.
Ms Denniss said it equated to each Hunter Water customer paying $5 a year for the next five years. “It’s the cost of a coffee,” she said.
