Health warning to Melbourne suburb where water is too dangerous to drink

More than a thousand residents in Melbourne's southeast are without safe water. A ‘boil water’ alert is in place after a mysterious drop in water pressure, sparking fears dirt and dangerous bacteria could infiltrate the pipe network.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Emergency. Water rationing is underway for affected residents a maximum
six bottles per household, Thank you very much. Southeast Water
is racing to warn Frankston South householders of possible contamination
in their water supply after a sudden loss of pressure
made the tap water unsafe to drink. VIC Emergency advising

(00:26):
householders to boil at first.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
And there's low pressure in the network, then that can
allow dirty water or sediment to enter into it. Just
trickling out of the shower.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
In some homes, taps deliver dirty water. In others it
struggles to flow, but what's caused the outer edge is
still unknown. Authorities warning one thousand, one hundred and fifty
residents their water could now contain dangerous bacteria.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
We're doing water sampling at the moment and flushing the network.
We'll need to wait for those lab results and make
sure that we've got that information before we can lift
the bollwater advisory.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
The public health warning delivered via letters and text messages.
Parents are being told not to bathe their children just
in case. VIC Emergency warns vulnerable residents are most at risk,
with the elderly, infants and children among those being worn
that Drinking the contaminated water can cause headaches, cramping, and

(01:25):
gastro symptoms. Southeast Water has promised customers they'll be compensated
for the inconvenience. Jacqueline Stanley seven News