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What should I do if
I find I have no water supply? |
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Check that the stop tap at the meter is turned
on. (It may have been turned off by pranksters) |
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Look to see whether there is water spilling
or leaking from a pipe that is on or near your property. If
you can see that there is a problem with the pipes between
the water meter and your home you will need to call a plumber,
however if you think the problem is with the pipe between
the water main and your meter or you are unsure, then please
contact Lower Murray Water. |
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If you have ignored a Final Notice for an unpaid
account your water supply may have been restricted, however
we endeavour to let you know if we restrict your supply. |
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How can I spot a leak? |
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In dry weather there may be damp patches on
the ground or lush plants where you don’t expect to
see them. |
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Your own plumbing may make a noise when no
one is using any water. |
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Your meter reading or your metered water bill
is much higher than you were expecting. |
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Turn off all of your taps and then look at
the meter to see if it is still turning. |
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If you think there is a leak in LMW’s
pipework please contact us. |
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How would I know if there was a burst water main? |
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A burst main is characterised by one or
more key factors: |
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A sudden loss of water pressure |
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Water may suddenly become dirty or have irregular
pressure |
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An unexplained hissing sound |
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very loud and sudden ‘hammering’
sound in water pipes |
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Water leaking up from a metal valve cover. |
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Who is responsible for repairing or replacing my stop tap
or isolating valve? |
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The stop tap/valve is Lower Murray Water's
maintenance responsibility. |
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Why is my water dirty? |
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Check whether it is only your hot water that
is dirty. If so, the problem is likely to be with your hot
water service. |
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If both your
hot and cold water are dirty, check whether the problem is
affecting your neighbours as well. If your neighbours do not
have a problem with dirty water, turn on your outside taps
for a few minutes to allow any debris to be flushed clear.
If the problem persists or if the neighbours also have dirty
water, call Lower Murray Water. |
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What chemicals are put into our water? |
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Most LMW treatment plants have a full treatment
process that involves first settling the water by adding alum
to cause the very fine particles to collect together and settle
out. The water is then passed through sand filters to polish
it. Soda Ash or Sodium Hydroxide is added to balance the pH
and then chlorine is added to disinfect the water. |
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What are cryptosporidium and giardia? |
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Cryptosporidium and giardia are micro-organisms
which cause gastroenteritis. Healthy people infected with
them may suffer diarrhoea, vomiting and fever, but will recover
fully. They can produce more serious illness in people whose
immune system has been compromised, for example AIDS sufferers. |
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There is a background level of infection by
cryptosporidium and giardia in the community. The organisms
are usually spread through contact with pets, farm animals
or people who are already infected. |
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Individual cryptosporidium and giardia parasites
are invisible to the naked eye. Their size is measured in
microns, and there are 1,000 microns to a millimetre. |
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Is there cryptosporidium or giardia in LMW water? |
|
Over the past 3 years of monitoring, no cryptosporidium
or giardia have been detected in Lower Murray Water water
supplies. Very small levels are sometimes found in some water
supplies, but it would be extremely rare to get an infectious
dose from the very low concentrations. A person would need
to drink well over 50 to 100 litres of water in a day, even
if all the micro-organisms were alive and the strain was infectious
to humans. |
|
Testing for cryptosporidium and giardia is
expensive, and requires a large volume of water. It is difficult
to confirm whether any cysts that are filtered from sample
are alive, or whether they are one of the small number of
strains that infect humans. |
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More information about cryptosporidium and
giardia can be found on Water Services of Australia’s
website, on http://www.wsaa.asn.au |
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What is Blue Green Algae? |
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Blue green algae naturally occurs in our rivers
from time to time. Lower Murray Water conducts regular algal
counts to monitor the level of algae in the water. |
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If there is a problem with cryptosporidium or giardia or blue
green algae, or contamination of the water supply, how will
I know? |
|
LMW has a response plan that will be put into
place in the event of any unforeseen emergency. |
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If I own one unit of a block of units, can I have my own meter? |
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Yes but the Authority will only read your meter
if all of the units are sub-metered. You should contact the
Authority's Property Services Department for details before
proceeding to contact a plumber. |
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