Council Facilities
PFAS Testing on Council Facilities
Following on from the ongoing Department of Defence PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) testing across a number of sites in the Katherine region by Coffey Consultants, testing is now occurring on Katherine Town Council facilities.
PFAS has been used for decades in hundreds of industrial applications and consumer products such as carpeting, apparels, upholstery, food paper wrappings, fire-fighting foams and metal plating.
A regime of testing is now underway on Council facilities that may have levels of PFAS that could impact on human health. This is part of the overall investigation of PFAS use at RAAF Tindal Base by Coffey, in the Katherine Township. Ongoing monitoring and public reporting of all facilities is planned.
Katherine Town Council Bore - Results
As part of the ongoing communication and advocacy for our community, Council has chosen to provide the results of the PFAS bore readings for Council managed irrigation bores. As a precautionary measure, where the readings show any detectable level of PFAS, Council will identify and implement measures to reduce potential exposure of the water to the community as a matter of priority.
Of note is the result from bore RN033019 (Civic Centre Big) - We asked for clarification from the Department of Defence, who provided the statement below.
Bore RN033019 (Civic Centre Big) retunred a positve reading and is located on the Darwin side of the Katherine river. The Department of Defence provided the statement below.
"This deep bore is within the original investigation area and is the only detectable result on the western side of the Katherine River. It may be impacted due to deep flow from the eastern side of the river going under the river before discharging through springs on the western side. The shallow bore on the same property was a non-detect. Sampling was done through the sprinkler system as there was no direct bore access, so the influence of the pipes is also being considered. Defence is investigating other deep bores in the area to confirm the limited extent next to the river. Most private bores in the area are shallow, and none that have been tested have detected PFAS."
| | Contaminant |
|---|
| Registered Number | Bore | Date Sampled | PFOS/PFHxS (µg/l) |
|---|
| RN007437 |
Sportsgrounds Bore 3 |
October 2017 |
1.06 |
|---|
| RN021099 |
Museum – DCA Small |
October 2017 |
0.15 |
|---|
| RN030662 |
Roney Park |
October 2017 |
0.56 |
|---|
| RN020119 |
Sportsgrounds Bore 1 |
October 2017 |
0.54 |
|---|
|
|
October 2017 |
1.08 |
|---|
| RN022836 |
Grevillea Park |
October 2017 |
0.46 |
|---|
| RN031131 |
Waste Management Facility |
May 2017 |
0.14 |
|---|
| |
|
October 2017 |
0.06 |
|---|
| RN022027 |
Dakota Park |
October 2017 |
0.19 |
|---|
| RN022130 |
Lockheed Park |
October 2017 |
0.16 |
|---|
| RN020118 |
Showgrounds Big |
October 2017 |
0.35 |
|---|
| RN004881 |
Showgrounds Small |
October 2017 |
0.24 |
|---|
| RN022025 |
Jukes Park |
October 2017 |
0.2 |
|---|
| RN033757 |
Police Bore |
October 2017 |
1.16 |
|---|
| RN033019 |
Civic Centre Big |
October 2017 |
0.2 |
|---|
| RN022486 |
Civic Centre Small |
October 2017 |
Not Detected |
|---|
Katherine compulsory water conservation measures
Please click here to see Power and Water compulsory water conversation measures in Katherine.