Petition demands action on contamination of Hobart’s drinking water
Water watchdog, Safe Water Hobart, has launched a petition demanding government action on the contamination of greater Hobart's drinking water. The petition seeks to ensure that precautions are taken to guarantee safe drinking water for greater Hobart, and address negligent management of its drinking water catchments.
The launch coincides with the release of a short documentary, 'Contaminated – How Safe Is Hobart's Drinking Water?', which features renowned scientist Lisa Gershwin and physician Frank Nicklason.
"In the last four years there has been a doubling of the number of people with motor neurone disease in southern Tasmania who are registered with MND Tasmania," said Dr Frank Nicklason. "We know that there are influences on drinking water safety which come from agriculture and industry and we're not convinced that at the moment there's enough attention on identifying potential pollutants that might be dangerous for human health."
"Hobart's water catchment is subject to a toxic mix of agricultural pesticides, fish hatchery effluent, and runoff from commercial waste sites all located above the catchment," Dr Gershwin said.
The launch comes on the back of TasWater's recent surveys indicating overwhelming public demand for enhanced protection of the state's water catchments.
Safe Water Hobart will be holding community information meetings in New Nofolk, Brighton, Kingborough, Clarence and Hobart to share the documentary, and provide a panel discussion with experts.
NOFF adds that this problem has been known to the Government since at least early 2019, and is potentially widespread throughout Tasmania wherever freshwater aquaculture hatcheries are located.