Kerang water quality advice

Lower Murray Water (LMW) monitors the quality of the urban water delivered to our customers to ensure it is safe to drink and meets the regulatory standards set in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) by the Victorian Department of Health.

Some Kerang customers may be experiencing an unfamiliar taste and odour in the water. This is the result of elevated levels of Blue Green Algae (BGA) recorded in the raw water supplied to the Kerang Water Treatment Plant (WTP) via an irrigation channel supply.

LMW has improved our treatment process by optimising the powdered activated carbon (PAC) system to reduce the impact of taste and odour compounds caused by the BGA.

PAC is a widely used non-hazardous chemical in drinking water treatment to remove taste and odour compounds such as geosmin and 2-Methylisoborneol (MIB). Geosmin and MIB are naturally occurring organic compounds that can impart an earthy or musty taste and odour to water.

We are continuing to monitor the current situation and adjust the treatment process to provide the best water possible and our testing indicates that the water is safe to drink. We can appreciate that at times the water is not always aesthetically pleasing to everyone.

The water quality has shown improvement since the issue was identified. However, it will take some time for the lingering effects of taste and odour to gradually dissipate from the water supply system. It is anticipated that the aesthetic quality will normalise through the coming 10 days.

We do apologise to our community for any concerns that this is causing. We will provide further updates as they come to hand.