in

Measuring the gaps in drinking water quality and policy across regional and remote Australia

[adace-ad id="91168"]
  • Sachs, J., Kroll, C., Lafortune, G., Fuller, G. & Woelm, F. Sustainable Development Report 2021. Sustainable Development Report 2021 (Cambridge University Press, 2021).

  • Department of Health. Water Quality of Public Drinking Water Supply Systems in Tasmania: Annual Report 2018-19. https://www.health.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/421189/Annual_drinking_water_quality_report_2018-19.pdf (2019).

  • Hall, N. L. et al. Drinking water delivery in the outer Torres Strait Islands: A case study addressing sustainable water issues in remote Indigenous communities. Australas. J. Water Resour. 25, 80–89 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  • Howey, K. & Grealy, L. Drinking water security: the neglected dimension of Australian water reform. Australas. J. Water Resour 1–10 (2021).

  • Infrastructure Australia. The Australian Infrastructure Audit 2019: An Assessment of Australia’s Future Infrastructure Needs. (2019).

  • Productivity Commission. National Water Reform 2020. www.pc.gov.au (2021).

  • Hall, N. L., Creamer, S., Anders, W., Slatyer, A. & Hill, P. S. Water and health interlinkages of the sustainable development goals in remote Indigenous Australia. npj Clean Water 3, 10 (2020).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Maloney, M. et al. 2019 Citizens’ Inquiry into the Health of the Barka / Darling River and Menindee Lakes. https://tribunal.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2019CitizensInquiry_BarkaDarlingMenindee-201017-02.pdf (2020).

  • Hartwig, L. D., Jackson, S., Markham, F. & Osborne, N. Water colonialism and Indigenous water justice in south-eastern Australia. International Journal of Water Resources Development https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2020.1868980 (2021).

  • The White House. The Biden-Harris Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/16/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-lead-pipe-and-paint-action-plan/ (2021).

  • Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Clean Water for First Nations: Is the Government Spending Enough? https://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/en/blog/news/RP-2122-021-M–clean-water-first-nations-is-government-spending-enough–eau-potable-premieres-nations-gouvernement-depense-t-il-assez (2021).

  • New Zealand Government. Government to provide support for water reforms, jobs and growth. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-provide-support-water-reforms-jobs-and-growth (2021).

  • Infrastructure Australia. Australian Infrastructure Audit 2019. (2019).

  • Infrastructure Australia. 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan: Reforms to meet Australia’s future infrastructure needs. (2021).

  • Australian Labor Party. Labor’s Plan to Future-Proof Australia’s Water Resources | Policies | Australian Labor Party. https://alp.org.au/policies/labors-plan-to-future-proof-australias-water-resources (2022).

  • Northern Land Council. Submission to the Productivity Commission Review of National Water Reform. (2021).

  • South Australian Council of Social Service. SACOSS Submission to the Productivity Commission’s National Water Reform Draft Report. (2021).

  • Aither/South Australian Council of Social Service. Falling through the gaps: A practical approach to improving drinking water services for regional and remote communities in South Australia. https://www.sacoss.org.au/falling-through-gaps-report, https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e7863 (2021).

  • Queensland Water Directorate. National Water Reform 2020: Productivity Commission Draft Report. (2021).

  • Local Government NSW. Draft LGNSW Submission on – Productivity Commission National Water Reform Draft Report. https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/water-reform-2020/submissions (2021).

  • National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia). Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 6. (2021).

  • Queensland Health. Public Health Regulation 2018. (2021).

  • State of Victoria. Safe Drinking Water Act 2003. (2019).

  • Water Corporation. Drinking Water Quality: Annual Report 2018–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/0278-6915(93)90134-k.

  • Water Quality Australia. Guidelines for water quality management. https://www.waterquality.gov.au/guidelines (2021).

  • Australian Government. Basin Plan 2012 Compilation No. 8. 269 (2021).

  • World Health Organisation. Guidelines for drinking-water quality: Fourth edition incorporating the first and second addenda. 4 (2022).

  • World Health Organisation. A global overview of national regulations and standards for drinking-water quality ii A global overview of national regulations and standards for drinking-water quality. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240023642 (2018).

  • Department of Regional Planning Manufacturing and Water. Water Quality and Reporting Guideline for a Drinking Water Service. https://www.rdmw.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/45593/water-quality-reporting-guideline.pdf (2010).

  • Bureau of Meterology. National performance reports. http://www.bom.gov.au/water/npr/ (2021).

  • Australian Government. Reporting Platform on the Sustainable Development Goals Indicators. https://www.sdgdata.gov.au/goals/clean-water-and-sanitation/6.1.1 (2021).

  • Water Corporation WA. Drinking Water Quality Annual Report 2018-19. https://www.watercorporation.com.au/-/media/WaterCorp/Documents/About-us/Our-performance/Drinking-Water-Quality/Drinking-water-quality-annual-report-2019.pdf (2019).

  • South Australian Water Corporation. South Australian Water Corporation Annual Report 2018-19. https://www.sawater.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/424662/2018-19-Annual-Report-with-financials-online-ISSN-HR.pdf (2019).

  • Power and Water Corporation. Drinking Water Quality Report 2019. (2019).

  • Urban Utilities. Drinking water quality management plan report 2018–19. (2019).

  • TasWater. Annual Drinking Water Quality Report 2018–19. (2019).

  • Icon Water. 2018-19 Drinking Water Quality Report. (2019).

  • NSW Health. NSW drinking water database – Water quality. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/water/Pages/drinking-water-database.aspx.

  • New South Wales Department of Planning Industry and Environment. LWU performance monitoring data and reports – Water in New South Wales. https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/water/water-utilities/lwu-performance-monitoring-data (2021).

  • Office of the Auditor General Western Australia. Delivering Essential Services to Remote Aboriginal Communities – Follow-up. https://audit.wa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Report-25_Delivering-Essential-Services-to-Remote-Aboriginal-Communities-%E2%80%93-Follow-up.pdf (2021).

  • Audit Office of New South Wales. Support for regional town water infrastructure: Performance audit. https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/FINAL%20-%20Support%20for%20regional%20town%20water%20infrastructure.pdf (2020).

  • Federal Race Discrimination Commissioner. Water: A Report on the provision of water and sanitation in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. (1994).

  • West Australian Auditor General. Delivering Essential Services to Remote Aboriginal Communities. (2015).

  • Green, K. D. Water 2000: a perspective on Australia’s water resources to the year 2000. https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18184199 (1984).

  • Regional Services Reform Unit. Resilient Families, Strong Communities, Key insights from consultation with remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/publications/tabledpapers.nsf/displaypaper/4010887a7914b1bf3330c905482581bf000764e6/$file/887.pdf (2017).

  • Rajapakse, J. et al. Unsafe drinking water quality in remote Western Australian Aboriginal communities. Geographical Res. 57, 178–188 (2019).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, N. L. Challenges of WASH in remote Australian Indigenous communities. J. Water, Sanitation Hyg. Dev. 9, 429–437 (2019).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaravani, F. G., Massey, P. D., Judd, J., Allan, J. & Allan, N. Closing the Gap: The need to consider perceptions about drinking water in rural Aboriginal communities in NSW, Australia. Public Health Res Pract 26, e2621616 (2016).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, M., Stewart, R. A. & Beal, C. D. Identifying and Overcoming Barriers to Collaborative Sustainable Water Governance in Remote Australian Indigenous Communities. Water 11, 2410 (2019).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Beal, C. D., Jackson, M., Stewart, R. A., Rayment, C. & Miller, A. Identifying and understanding the drivers of high water consumption in remote Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities. J. Clean. Prod. 172, 2425–2434 (2018).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Horne, J. Australian water decision making: are politicians performing? Int. J. Water Resour. Dev. 36, 462–483 (2020).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurmelvos, R. Company remains shtum on plans to filter Laramba’s contaminated water supply | NITV. NITV News (2021).

  • Kurmelovs, R. & Moore, I. ‘It makes us sick’: remote NT community wants answers about uranium in its water supply | Northern Territory | The Guardian. The Guardian (2021).

  • Archibald-Binge, E. Concerns over water quality in remote Queensland: “This wouldn’t be acceptable in the city” | NITV. NITV News (2018).

  • Richards, S. Oodnadatta residents “suffering” from poor water quality: Aboriginal Health Council. (2020).

  • Parke, E. WA Government urged to fix contaminated water supplies in remote Indigenous communities – ABC News. ABC News (2016).

  • Volkofsky, A., Pezet, L. & McConnell, S. Water donations flow as reports of bad drinking water increase in Darling River communities – ABC News. ABC News (2019).

  • O’Donnell, E., Jackson, S., Langton, M. & Godden, L. Racialized water governance: the ‘hydrological frontier’ in the Northern Territory, Australia. (2022) https://doi.org/10.1080/13241583.2022.2049053.

  • Marshall, V. Overturning aqua nullius: Securing Aboriginal water rights | AIATSIS. (Aboriginal Studies Press, 2017).

  • Grealy, L. & Howey, K. Securing supply: governing drinking water in the Northern Territory. Australian Geographer 341–360 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1080/00049182.2020.1786945.

  • Taylor, K. S., Moggridge, B. J. & Poelina, A. Australian Indigenous Water Policy and the impacts of the ever-changing political cycle. Aust. J. Water Resour. 20, 132–147 (2016).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, S. Water and Indigenous rights: Mechanisms and pathways of recognition, representation, and redistribution. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water 5, e1314 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  • Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations & Australia Governments. National Agreement on Closing the Gap. https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/national-agreement-ctg.pdf (2020).

  • Jaravani, F. G. et al. Working with an aboriginal community to understand drinking water perceptions and acceptance in rural New South Wales. Int Indigenous Policy J 8, (2017).

  • Beal, C. D. et al. Exploring community-based water management options for remote Australia. Final report for the Remote and Isolated Communities Essential Services Project. https://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0036/918918/Remote-community-water-management-Beal-et-al-2019-Final-Report-1.pdf (2019).

  • Bailie, R. S., Carson, B. E. & McDonald, E. L. Water supply and sanitation in remote Indigenous communities – Priorities for health development. Aust. N.Z. J. Public Health 28, 409–414 (2004).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Thurber, K. A., Long, J., Salmon, M., Cuevas, A. G. & Lovett, R. Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among Indigenous Australian children aged 0–3 years and association with sociodemographic, life circumstances and health factors. Public Health Nutr. 23, 295 (2020).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Dharriwaa Elders Group & Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service. Recommendations for the Review of the National Water Initiative. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837719319799 (2020).

  • Natural Resouces Commission. Review of the Water Sharing Plan for the Barwon-Darling Unregulated and Alluvial Water Sources 2012. (2019).

  • Browett, H. et al. Cost Implications of Hard Water on Health Hardware in Remote Indigenous Communities in the Central Desert Region of Australia. Int. Indigenous Policy J. 3 (2012).

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics. 1270.0.55.005 – Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 5 – Remoteness Structure, July 2016. https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/1270.0.55.005Main+Features1July%202016?OpenDocument (2016).

  • RiverOfLife, M., Taylor, K. S., & Poelina, A. Living Waters, Law First: Nyikina and Mangala water governance in the Kimberley, Western Australia. Australas. J. Water Resour 25, 40–56 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, S. & Nias, D. Watering country: Aboriginal partnerships with environmental water managers of the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Australas. J. Water Resour. 26, 287–303 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hemming, S., Rigney, D., Bignall, S., Berg, S. & Rigney, G. Indigenous nation building for environmental futures: Murrundi flows through Ngarrindjeri country. Australas. J. Water Resour. 26, 216–235 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  • Moggridge, B. J. & Thompson, R. M. Cultural value of water and western water management: an Australian Indigenous perspective. Australas. J. Water Resour. 25, 4–14 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  • Moggridge, B. J., Betterridge, L. & Thompson, R. M. Integrating Aboriginal cultural values into water planning: a case study from New South Wales, Australia. Australas. J. Water Resour. 26, 273–286 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoverman, S. & Ayre, M. Methods and approaches to support Indigenous water planning: An example from the Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory, Australia. J. Hydrol. 474, 47–56 (2012).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, S., Tan, P. L., Mooney, C., Hoverman, S. & White, I. Principles and guidelines for good practice in Indigenous engagement in water planning. J. Hydrol. 474, 57–65 (2012).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, M., Stewart, R. A., Fielding, K. S., Cochrane, J. & Beal, C. D. Collaborating for Sustainable Water and Energy Management: Assessment and Categorisation of Indigenous Involvement in Remote Australian Communities. Sustainability 11, 427 (2019). 2019, Vol. 11, Page 427.

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • New South Wales Water Directorate. Submission 37 – NSW Water Directorate – National Water Reform – Public inquiry. (2021).

  • Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council. National Water Initiative Pricing Principles. https://www.awe.gov.au/water/policy/policy/nwi/pricing-principles (2010).

  • Kukutai, T. & Taylor, J. Indigenous Data Sovereignty. Indigenous Data Sovereignty (ANU Press, 2016). https://doi.org/10.22459/CAEPR38.11.2016.

  • Maiam Nayri Wingara Indigenous Data Sovereignty Collective. Key Principles. https://www.maiamnayriwingara.org/key-principles (2018).

  • Ubaldi, B. Open Government Data: Towards Empirical Analysis of Open Government Data Initiatives. https://doi.org/10.1787/5k46bj4f03s7-en (2013).

  • Sherris, A. R. et al. Nitrate in Drinking Water during Pregnancy and Spontaneous Preterm Birth: A Retrospective Within-Mother Analysis in California. Environ. Health Perspect. 129, 57001 (2021).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Government PFAS Taskforce. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Australian information portal. https://www.pfas.gov.au/ (2021).

  • Environmental Protection Agency. Safe Drinking Water Information System Federal Reports Services System. https://sdwis.epa.gov/ords/sfdw_pub/f?p=108:200 (2021).

  • Indigenous Services Canada. Short-term drinking water advisories. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1562856509704/1562856530304 (2021).

  • Indigenous Services Canada. Ending long-term drinking water advisories. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1506514143353/1533317130660 (2021).

  • ESR Risk and Response Group. Drinking Water Online. https://www.drinkingwater.org.nz/ (2021).

  • Meehan, K. et al. Exposing the myths of household water insecurity in the global north: A critical review. Wiley Interdiscip. Rev.: Water 7, e1486 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Gorman, M. Mental and physical health impacts of water/sanitation infrastructure in First Nations communities in Canada: An analysis of the Regional Health Survey. World Dev. 145, 105517 (2021).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Baijius, W. & Patrick, R. J. “We Donat Drink the Water Here”: The Reproduction of Undrinkable Water for First Nations in Canada. Water 11, 1079 (2019).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Allaire, M., Wu, H. & Lall, U. National trends in drinking water quality violations. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 115, 2078–2083 (2018).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Meehan, K., Jurjevich, J. R., Chun, N. M. J. W. & Sherrill, J. Geographies of insecure water access and the housing–water nexus in US cities. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 117, 28700–28707 (2020).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, J., Cao, M., Tong, D., Finkelstein, Z. & Hoek, E. M. V. A critical review of point-of-use drinking water treatment in the United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-021-00128-z.

  • McFarlane, K. & Harris, L. M. Small systems, big challenges: Review of small drinking water system governance. Environ. Rev. 26, 378–395 (2018).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Tortajada, C. & Biswas, A. K. Achieving universal access to clean water and sanitation in an era of water scarcity: strengthening contributions from academia. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustainability 34, 21–25 (2018).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Glade, S. & Ray, I. Safe drinking water for small low-income communities: the long road from violation to remediation. Environ. Res. Lett. 17, 044008 (2022).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Daley, K., Castleden, H., Jamieson, R., Furgal, C. & Ell, L. Water systems, sanitation, and public health risks in remote communities: Inuit resident perspectives from the Canadian Arctic. Soc. Sci. Med. 135, 124–132 (2015).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, G., Bakker, K. & Harris, L. Drinking Water Quality Guidelines across Canadian Provinces and Territories: Jurisdictional Variation in the Context of Decentralized Water Governance. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014 11, 4634–4651 (2014). Vol. 11, Pages 4634-4651.

    CAS 

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrera, V. Reconciling global aspirations and local realities: Challenges facing the Sustainable Development Goals for water and sanitation. World Dev. 118, 106–117 (2019).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Mraz, A. L. et al. Why pathogens matter for meeting the united nations’ sustainable development goal 6 on safely managed water and sanitation. Water Res. 189, 116591 (2021).

    CAS 
    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiff, J. Measuring the human right to water: An assessment of compliance indicators. Wiley Interdiscip. Rev.: Water 6, e1321 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  • Charles, K. J., Nowicki, S. & Bartram, J. K. A framework for monitoring the safety of water services: from measurements to security. npj Clean. Water 3, 1–6 (2020).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Boisvert, E. SA Water dealing with complaints from some Fleurieu Peninsula residents about change to tap water from Myponga Reservoir – ABC News. ABC News https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-05/fleurieu-residents-complaints-about-water-change/100267414 (2021).

  • Uralla Shire Council. Water Quality Analysis. https://www.uralla.nsw.gov.au/Council-Services/Water-and-Sewer-Services/Water-Quality-Analysis (2021).

  • NSW Health. Drinking water quality and incidents – Water quality. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/water/Pages/drinking-water-quality-and-incidents.aspx (2021).

  • Kumpel, E. et al. From data to decisions: understanding information flows within regulatory water quality monitoring programs. npj Clean. Water 3, 1–11 (2020).

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD Principles on Water Governance. https://www.oecd.org/cfe/regionaldevelopment/OECD-Principles-on-Water-Governance-en.pdf (2015).

  • Wyrwoll, P. R., Manero, A., Taylor, K. S., Rose, E. & Grafton, R. Q. Supporting dataset for “Measuring gaps in drinking water quality and policy in regional and remote Australia.” https://osf.io/vmxdz/?view_only=9f0608088e8143dbbbf2c350ff0e5ca1 (2022).


  • Source: Resources - nature.com

    Four researchers with MIT ties earn Schmidt Science Fellowships

    Fusion’s newest ambassador