Q’town’s real water crisis

• Published date: 05 October 2023
• Publication title: Mountain Scene

Affecting 60 to 70% of the town’s then much-smaller population, the gastroenteritis outbreak was a shocker, particularly for locals who’d been so proud of their pure mountain water

What caused the epidemic was a blockage in the sewer line from Fernhill and Sunshine Bay.

A brick, entangled in tree roots, had apparently invaded the line, causing raw sewage to back-flood through an adjoining manhole and into Waterfall Creek.

That creek in turn flowed into the lake about 200m from the water supply intake below Glenorchy Rd.

Hidden in dense bush, the polluted creek was discovered by then-wildlife officer Dick Marquand, who’d been walking nearby.

Alerted, council staff then cleared the blocked sewer in a matter of hours.

The discovery came weeks after people had been turning up to doctors’ rooms and pharmacies with cases of vomiting and diarrhea.

Ironically, doctors had advised the first cases to drink plenty of water to flush out...