Drinking water quality update

Some Barwon Water customers may have seen media coverage today relating to PFAS in drinking water at various sites around Australia being above new US guidelines.

Barwon Water follows rigorous processes to ensure that the drinking water we supply meets high quality standards and is safe for our customers and community.

Barwon Water adheres to the current National Health and Medical Research Council Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) which set guideline values for PFAS in Australian drinking water.

We routinely conduct a range of tests to ensure drinking water quality complies with the guidelines and have never detected PFAS above these levels; all test results have been well under the Australian drinking water guideline levels.

We also participate in research on treatment methods and water quality risks to protect the health of the community we serve.

Variance with international drinking water guidelines

When establishing health guidance such as drinking water guideline values in Australia, scientific evidence is assessed with consideration of the Australian context.

It is not unusual for guidance values to vary from country to country depending on the purpose for which they are used, the local context and the interpretation of the evidence.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has developed the current Australian Drinking Water Guidelines which are used by state and territory health departments, drinking water regulators, local health authorities and water utilities.