Significant rainfall teamed with ongoing bushfires could contaminate water and affect the reliability of supply, Federation Council has warned.
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Council mayor Pat Bourke said sizable rainfall following bushfires could create extreme water quality issues due to contaminants like fire retardant and erosion run-off entering the river system.
He asked shire residents to be mindful of their water use as it could take longer to treat contaminated water affecting supply.
"This may impact the water quality of the Murray River via the Kiewa and Ovens Rivers which could potentially affect the treatment processes that are undertaken at the Howlong, Corowa and Mulwala water treatment plants," he said.
"Due to bushfire contaminates the water may be difficult to treat which will slow down the processes that the treatment plants follow to ensure the water meets Australian drinking guidelines."
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Last week the Murray-Darling Basin Authority warned rainfall could contaminate water catchments including the Hume Dam.
MDBA river operations executive director Andrew Reynolds said ash and sediment from the fires would be washed into steams, rivers and dams.
Cr Bourke said give the ongoing drought in the region, council was considering introducing water restrictions.
He said they would monitor the situation and provide updated information to the community over the coming weeks.
"To ensure continued reliability of the water supply, residents located in Corowa, Howlong, Mulwala are asked to review their daily water usage and implement water saving measures," he said.
"Council is requesting residents to be mindful that supply and water pressure during peak periods (10am to 5pm) may be impacted due to the quality of available source water from the river off takes."
Cr Bourke said northern communities needed to follow Riverina Water's request for no watering with sprinklers between 10am and 5pm.