A new group set up in response to Tenterfield's town water boil alert is hosting a community barbecue at Moonbahlene's plant nursery at 34 Railway Avenue from 10am to 3pm this Wednesday. Thanks to Monday's delivery of a new shipment donated by Sydney-based Dignity Water, there will also be containers of water available to take home.
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Lu Legge has created Tenterfield Water Relief particularly to help those who may struggle with boiling and storing water for use at home, or in collecting water containers from depots.
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This is her second week of bringing in donated water and distributing it to disability services and through networks to people in their homes. With it becoming increasingly difficult to source large quantities of bottled water, she would also like to set up a bottle-refilling capability for both the 10-litre bottles and for the 1000-litre water pods.
"There are the elderly and the disabled who can't physically boil 10 litres of water a day, and can't drive to collect water," Lu said.
"I want to ensure that everyone is getting what they need."
Those who are mobile (and are Tenterfield residents) are invited to the open house each Wednesday that the plant nursery is operating in order to collect the water they need. Lu said she is gratefully to Moonbahlene Aboriginal Land Council for offering her temporary premises, but she is keen to hear of other sheds which may be vacant at the moment and can be used as a distribution hub, hopefully with room to unload B-Double trucks.
She reached out to Granite Belt Water Relief for some logistical advice, and that organisation kindly delivered 36,000 litres of drinking water last week.
Lanz Priestly of Water with Dignity also heard of the town's plight with the boil alert in the wake of bushfire ash being washed into the town supply, and was keen to support the community.
Where I come from, if the water quality was like this in Sydney there'd be rioting.
- Lanz Priestly, Dignity Water
"Where I come from, if the water quality was like this in Sydney there'd be rioting," he said. "All NSW should be treated as equals."
Water with Dignity was created last year when organisers saw water problems looming as the drought set in. Lanz said the group will get water out to communities by whatever means necessary. In this instance the six pallets of water were sourced from Woolworths in Stanthorpe.