Water from sewage not safe enough

THE Adelaide scientist who developed Australia's drinking water guidelines says he would not drink recycled sewage and would not back its use.

As residents of drought-stricken southeast Queensland were told yesterday they would have no choice but to accept recycled water for drinking, Professor Don Bursill said there were too many risks attached to the practice for it to be introduced here. The former SA Water chief scientist, who in 2004 oversaw a review of national drinking water guidelines and who was last week recognised in the Australia Day honours for his contribution to water quality research, says the technology that would make recycled sewage suitable for drinking already exists, but he is not confident we have the back-up systems to ensure it stays safe.

"You can turn anything wet into drinking water if you have enough money," he said yesterday. "To really ensure it is safe would cost a tremendous amount. This is one bloke who isn't going to drink it."

Professor Bursill, who in retirement is the chairman of the Torrens Taskforce charged with solving chronic water quality problems in the urban river, says while it is possible to produce safe drinking water from waste water, present systems are not adequate to cover the risk of bacterial contamination.

"The risk is orders of magnitude higher than when dealing with conventional sources," he said.

He says we should buy more River Murray water from the eastern states, and keep recycled water for irrigation and industrial use.

Adelaide already recycles just over 20 per cent of its treated effluent. Major uses include irrigation on the northern Adelaide Plain and on vineyards near Willunga.

Queensland's Premier Peter Beattie yesterday said his hand was forced on recycled drinking water because Brisbane's Wivenhoe Dam was now at 20 per cent capacity.