The far north-west New South Wales town of Walgett will no longer solely rely on high-sodium bore water as its main water source, with the town beginning a switch to river water.
New South Wales Water Minister Rose Jackson confirmed on Thursday the Walgett Shire Council had commenced the transition to a water supply to the town's water treatment plant, supplied by the Namoi River.
It is the first time since 2020 that the town will have a water supply alternative to water supplied by a bore of the Great Artesian Basin, water found to contain up 300 mg/L of sodium.
The "intolerable" bore water lead to 83 per cent of surveyed Walgett, Namoi village and Gingie residents relying on bottled water in at least one month in the last two months, with 90 per cent surveyed saying the were concerned by the quality, smell and contamination of the town's water supply.
University of New South Wales researchers determined the town's water supply had 15 times the level of sodium than what is recommended for long-term consumption by people with hypertension or renal and heart issues, chronic conditions disproportionately experienced by Indigenous Australians.
Approximately one fifth of Walgett's 5200 population is Indigenous, substantially greater than the New South Wales average of 3.4 per cent.
Minister Jackson said the transition away from the town's bore water was a positive step for the local community.
"This is such great news. The residents of Walgett deserve to have access to clean, drinkable and palatable water like other communities around the state," Ms Jackson said.
"We've started today (Thursday) but switching the plant to river water is a complex process that takes time, which is why it will be happening in stages over the next week."
Ms Jackson said "it will still take some time" for salinity levels in the town's water system to reduce following the switch to treated river water.
"It has taken far too long for the switch over to happen, and it will still take some time for the treated river water to flush through the system to people's taps. But this is significant progress," she said.
Ms Jackson said water quality in the town will be monitored closely during the transition to river water, admitting the local community had waited too long for water supply issues to be resolved.
"I recognise the community has been waiting an unacceptably long time to have their water issues resolved, but I am pleased that I was able to sit down with residents in-person to hear their side of the story," Ms Jackson said.
"More importantly, I was able to fast-track work on the ground that will enable them to have access to cleaner, more palatable drinkable water within days.
Ms Jackson also confirmed water testing conducted on 27 April following community concerns about river water quality found no pesticide contamination.
The Walgett Shire Council will continue to regularly test for pesticides until the end of June with regular testing of drinking water supplies to also occur to ensure the water complies with Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
