1998 Sydney water crisis

The 1998 Sydney water crisis involved the supposed contamination of Sydney's main water supply, the Warragamba Dam, by the microscopic pathogens cryptosporidium and giardia between July and September 1998.

Low levels of cryptosporidium and giardia were first detected in the water supply on July 21. In days following, much higher levels were recorded, and on July 27, the first "boil water" alert (in which residents were instructed to boil their tap water before use) was declared for the eastern Central Business District (CBD). On July 29, a "boil water" alert was issued for the south of Sydney Harbour and on July 30, a Sydney-wide "boil water" alert was issued.

The Sydney Water Corporation announced the water safe to drink again on August 4 [cite news | first=James | last=Vassilopoulos | coauthors= | title=Sydney water crisis due to corporatisation | date=1998-08-13 | publisher=Green Left Online | url =http://www.greenleft.org.au/1998/328/20661 | work =Issues | pages = | accessdate = | language = ] .

The contamination was caused by low-quality raw water entering the dam. This was attributed to moderate rainfall in July, followed by heavy rainfall in August and September (after decreasing storage levels since mid-July 1997) which caused pulses of the raw water to enter the dam.

Although a problem was first detected on Friday, July 21, health and water authorities put off meeting to discuss notifying the public on Monday, 27 July, despite the apparently higher contamination results over the weekend.

The event, which was highly publicised, caused major public alarm with three successive "boil water" notices (in which residents were instructed to boil their tap water before use) affecting up to three million residents. The lack of cases of cryptosporidiosis, giardiosis or any other health problem which might be attributed to tainted water led to suggestions the microbes were either not an infectious type, or not as prevalent as measured. An inquiry after the event exposed it as an exaggeration of fact, with Australian Water Technologies, part of Sydney Water, severely overestimating levels of cryptosporidium and giardia present in the water (the true levels in fact not harmful to human health). The handling of the crisis by Sydney Water, a state-government owned corporation since 1995, was heavily criticized, causing the resignation of both the Chairman and the Managing Director and bringing up issues of private vs public ownership and scientific uncertainty.

A state-sponsored enquiry, the Sydney Water Inquiry, was established in August. Chaired by Peter McClellan, QC, the final report was delivered in December 1998.

The Sydney Catchment Authority was created in 1999 as result of the crisis, assuming control of Sydney's catchments, dams and treatment plants, while Sydney Water maintained responsibility only for water distribution and for sewage collection, treatment and disposal. [ cite journal|title=Sydney Water Inquiry Continues |journal=Health Steam|date=December 1998|first=|last=|coauthors=|volume=|issue=12|pages=|id= |url=http://www.waterquality.crc.org.au/hsarch/HS12a.htm|format=|accessdate= ]

References

Cited

General

*Hrudey, Elizabeth J. (2004). "Safe Drinking Water: Lessons from Recent Outbreaks in Affluent Nations". IWA Publishing, 351-356.
* [http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/stories/s17169.htm Sydney's Cryptic Water Crisis (ABC Radio)]
* [http://www.wsws.org/news/1998/sep1998/syd-s11.shtml Sydney's Water crisis-a systemic failure (World Socialist Website)]
* [http://www.springerlink.com/content/x54286536750348k/ The Great Sydney Water Crisis of 1998 (Journal Article)]