Fifteen townships have no sewerage, including The Oaks and Oakdale. Every time it rains heavily, residents in these villages complain of sewage rising from septic tanks and overflowing into Werriberri Creek, which runs into the Warragamba dam. Every day, about 550 tonnes are spread on golf courses, agricultural lands, forests, public gardens and rehabilitation land throughout the Sydney catchment area and other catchments across the state. It appears that the sludge is not baked or pasteurised as required by international standards to kill off infectious parasites. Yet no tests have been conducted for Giardia and Cryptosporidium in run-off water.
Testing is too expensive, it is said.
Finally, what people have long suspected has been proven. Successive governments have covered up high contamination readings. In Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, the state Liberal government stands accused of covering up dangerous levels six weeks ago, just when the Sydney scandal began. While politicians from the two traditional ruling parties seek to use these revelations to engage in cheap point-scoring against each other, they are all equally responsible. The medical knowledge and scientific technology exist to provide clean, safe water.