Residents of a small Victorian community are being urged to use baby wipes to stay clean after a Christmas Day breakdown at the town’s water treatment plant knocked out safe drinking water.
Health authorities issued an urgent warning to the residents of Elmore, about 175km north of Melbourne, about health hazards in the tap water at 1.30pm.
“The town’s clear water storage tank has been drained following an issue at the Elmore Water Treatment Plant earlier on Monday,” VicEmergency said.
“Tap water is not safe to drink in Elmore. Boiling the tap water will not make it safe.”
The authorities warned residents to drink only bottled water.
“It is unsafe to use tap water for: food preparation, cleaning food or preparing baby formula,” the agency said, adding animals and pets should be given bottled water to drink.”
The warning extends to personal hygiene, with residents advised to use disposable baby wipe products to clean themselves.
“Coliban Water is organising bottled water for delivery to those impacted in Elmore, with further details on this to come,” the health alert said.
“There will also be a water trailer for residents to use to supplement their water supply in the short term.”
On Tuesday morning, Coliban Water, a government-owned utility, said the “do not drink” warning remained in place.
“Please continue to follow all ‘do not drink’ advice, which includes not using the tap water for: drinking, preparing beverages, washing and preparing food, preparing baby formula, brushing teeth, making ice,” the company said.
“You can use the water for: toilet flushing, washing machine use, bathing. Please ensure you do not ingest the water.”
The company said bottled water and a water trailer was available at the Elmore Water Treatment Plant at the base of Elmore water tower.
“We are carrying out doorknocking in the community today to ensure everyone is aware of this advice.”
The company said it would be “several days” before Elmore’s water network returned to normal and the “do not drink” advisory could be lifted.
On Christmas Day, the company said it was working to restore the town’s water treatment plant.
“The plant is currently being restored, but this will take some time to restore normal operations once again,” Coliban stated.
“We will be adding chlorine to the water supply in the short term as we resume water production.”