Angry residents take aim at TasWater

SOUTH Hobart businesses and residents are up in arms about a boil water alert for their suburb, with some calling on TasWater to do more for paying customers.

Wynyard St resident Matt Lamb and his son Harris have been affected by the alert.

Mr Lamb said he heard about the water warning from social media and later through doorknocking on Wednesday.

He has lived in South Hobart for six years and said nothing like this had happened before and it was ridiculous for a modern capital city.

“We had been drinking it all day [Wednesday] at home,” he said. “It’s a real inconvenience.”

Wellesley St resident Elaine Nightingale accused TasWater of lying about doorknocking her house or providing pamphlets. “Nobody’s knocked on my door and there has been no letter drop,” she said.

“E. coli is a Third World country ailment. I have been here nearly 40 years and I’ve never had any issues with the water.”

Ms Nightingale said her daughter, who lives in the same street, drank water on Wednesday afternoon and later vomited. “We can’t prove that it’s the water but it’s a funny thing,” she said.

Michael Dutta, manager of South Hobart business The Foodstore, said a TasWater worker took water away for sampling on Wednesday afternoon but did not tell him whether it was contaminated.

“I think TasWater have been very negligent, we were very busy [on Wednesday] so I hope no one gets sick,” he said.

“I hope TasWater is going to compensate us for the water that was bottled which we had to throw away because it was contaminated.”

Owner of South Hobart cafes Ginger Brown and Honey Brown, Ben Morton, who is also a local resident, said the alert was frustrating and disappointing.

Mr Morton said he was advised by TasWater to boil all water for drinking at his cafes, but that water used in coffee and for washing would be fine because it was heated.

“It’s not great,” he said, adding he sent staff to buy bottled water so they could serve customers. “I guess there could be a decrease in business with people being concerned, but I don’t think they have any reason to be.”