Bestinau got that-
Laramba resident Stanley Fletcher is concerned that people are getting sick from prolonged exposure to the community’s drinking water.
Most important points:
- Indigenous Australians living in remote areas are disproportionately affected by kidney disease
- Professor Paul Lawton examines whether drinking contaminated water contributes to these health problems
- In April 2021, the Northern Territory government announced a $28 million funding package for water quality in remote communities
“The kids and the little babies need good water for their kidneys, for their growth development,” said Mr. Fletcher.
Laramba is a remote Aboriginal community about 205 kilometers west of Alice Springs, home to about 300 people.
The water comes from a borehole and uranium occurs naturally in the area.
A 2020 Power and Water report found the community’s water was contaminated with 0.052 milligrams per liter of uranium, more than three times the concentration limit recommended in Australia’s drinking water guidelines.
Does Drinking Contaminated Water Contribute to Health Problems?
Professor Paul Lawton is a kidney specialist at the Menzies School of Health Research and is leading a study to answer that question.
“In remote communities in the Northern Territory, there are major concerns about drinking water quality throughout the Territory,” said Professor Lawton.
“Almost all remote communities are dependent on well water and as a result there are concerns that groundwater is exposed to large amounts of minerals, especially heavy metals.”
Compared to those living in urban areas, Indigenous Australians living in remote areas are disproportionately affected by kidney disease.
It is not known whether water quality contributes to health problems such as kidney disease requiring dialysis or diabetes, or whether concerns about water quality are exaggerated.
Professor Lawton said it was important to provide security in some way to remote residents.
“If people are concerned about water quality — whether it’s contamination, taste, color or even temperature — the theory is that they’re much more likely to go to the store to buy some soda,” he said.
That’s a phenomenon known as “distracting drinking” and something that Fletcher says is happening in his community.
“Most kids barely drink any water,” Fletcher says.
Mr Fletcher also says he tries to avoid tap water as much as possible.
“We buy bottled water,” he said.
“It punches a hole in your pocket, especially if you buy every payday all year round.
“Water should be free. We shouldn’t have to pay for it.”
Study expected to be completed in 2023
Professor Lawton said the existing water quality of remote communities in the Northern Territory would be accompanied by remote pathology outcomes over the past two decades.
The pathology tests analyzed will come from blood and urine tests of kidney disease collected for clinical purposes.
†[It will] don’t just look at the relationship between [the results] and the burden of kidney disease, but [also on] the progression of kidney disease and the concentration of heavy metals over time in remote communities,” said Professor Lawton.
The study is expected to be completed in 2023.
Health not the only concern
In the remote community of Beswick, about 116 km south east of Katherine† residents say that the quality of the water costs them financially.
The water of Beswick is very rich in calcium, also known as ‘hard water’.
Nearly every faucet in the area is heavily calcified, and residents say the hard water damages appliances that many people can’t afford to replace.
“The pitcher gets damaged by all the calcium that builds up,” said resident Patricia Curtis.
Ms. Curtis said this also affected larger, more expensive devices.
“The washing machines… get filled with all that lime and calcium buildup,” she said.
“It costs more money and we have to hand wash our clothes and go to someone else’s house to do our laundry.”
Public investment underway
In April 2021, the Northern Territory government announced a $28 million financing package for water quality in remote areas.
The government said the package would spend $7 million each year, over four years, to improve water quality and supply in Laramba, Engawala, Yuendumu, Epenarra, Imanpa, Atitjere, Warruwi, Angurugu, Beswick and Numbulwar.
Laramba will have a pilot project for water treatment and a new water infrastructure.
