Advice has been issued by South East Water to the residents of Flinders, Point Leo and Shoreham that as of 7:37 pm, 20 March 2025, the tap water is not safe to drink without boiling first.
The warning comes after a dead rodent was found in Shoreham Reservoir during a maintenance inspection on Thursday 20 March 2025.
While South East Water undertakes water testing and investigations, they’ve issued a Precautionary Boil Water Advisory to make sure tap water is safe to drink.
E. coli itself is not necessarily harmful, but finding it means that the drinking water may be contaminated with other germs that can cause illness.
Low water pressure and interruptions to water supply can lead to a build-up of bacteria that can make people sick.
Consumption of unboiled water may lead to diarrhoea, cramps, headaches or other gastro like symptoms.
Infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly and immuno-compromised people are particularly at risk.
If you are live or work within Flinders, Point Leo, Shoreham, you must boil tap water before drinking.
What you should do:
- Boil water before drinking it, or drink bottled water.
- Boil water for food preparation, cleaning fruit and vegetables, making ice and for preparing baby formula.
- Boil water for brushing teeth.
- Water contaminated with germs can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach pains. You should visit your local doctor or call Nurse on Call on 1300 60 60 24 if you are experiencing any of these symptoms.
- Children should take cooled boiled water or bottled water to school.
- You should boil drinking water for livestock and pets
To ensure water is safe, you should:
- Heat water until a continuous and rapid stream of air-bubbles is produced from the bottom of a pan or kettle (kettles with automatic shut-off switches are suitable).
Allow water to cool before use. - Store water in a clean, closed container for later use.
- Be careful when boiling water to prevent scalding or burns.
- If you are concerned that you may have been affected by contaminated water, contact your doctor or Nurse-on-Call.
Impacts in your area:
- You can source drinking water from Flinders Civic Hall (54 Cook Street, Flinders) and Shoreham Recreation (Reserve Cliff Road, Shoreham).
- Drinking water is expected to be impacted until water quality results are received.
- South East Water is investigating the issue and sampling the water quality. They’re working around the clock to return water supply to normal as soon as possible.
- South East Water is working closely with the Department of Health and will issue another update once it has further details.
The next update is expected by 21/03/2025 05:00 pm or as the situation changes.
