The NSW Government welcomes the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) release of proposed new drinking water guidelines for public consultation, which recommend lower values for PFAS in drinking water across Australia.
As confirmed by recent and ongoing testing, all water currently supplied by Sydney Water and Hunter Water complies with existing Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and remains safe to drink.
Only water supplied from one area in the Upper Blue Mountains, processed through the Cascade Water Filtration Plant, exceeds the proposed new PFAS guideline values, although it remains well below the current drinking water guidelines.
The Cascade Filtration Plant services approximately 41,400 customers in the Blue Mountains region, including Leura, Katoomba, Catalina, Blackheath, and Mt Victoria.
To provide further reassurance, recent tests conducted at the Cascade Water Filtration Plant have confirmed that all samples remain well within the current Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
WaterNSW is investigating the source of the PFAS contamination, and Sydney Water is working with WaterNSW and NSW Health to reduce the PFAS levels in the Cascades catchment by isolating the areas where PFAS has been detected and using more water from Oberon Dam.
Sydney Water and WaterNSW are actively working on both short- and long-term solutions to bring this system in line with the rest of Sydney's water supply, which already tests below the new proposed PFAS limits.
All drinking water that complies with the current guidelines is safe. Water sourced from our catchments undergoes extensive treatment and rigorous testing before reaching households.
To date, no concerning detections have been found in regional NSW drinking water supplies. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) and NSW Health are working to support all regional water utilities to test their drinking water for PFAS and testing is ongoing.
The state's water authorities, in conjunction with DCCEEW, the NSW Environment Protection Authority, and NSW Health, are also reviewing what the new draft guidelines mean for the monitoring, testing and treatment of drinking water across the state.
The NHMRC used conservative assumptions in setting these proposed new values to ensure even small risks are addressed.
The updated guidelines released by the NHMRC show the amount of PFAS a person can consume daily and over a lifetime for drinking water without any appreciable risks to their health.
The draft guidelines released by the NHMRC are an interim proposal and may change following further consultation and deliberation.
For more information please visit: www.nsw.gov.au/pfas
Minister for Water Rose Jackson said:
"All drinking water that meets the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines remains safe to drink.
"There are no immediate changes or risks when it comes to drinking water that meets our existing guidelines.
"We understand the community's concerns about PFAS and are committed to transparency, ensuring the community has access to up-to-date information.
"The NSW Government remains determined to ensuring drinking water guidelines are met.
"Management of PFAS is informed by the best science and evidence, and where there are issues detected, the NSW Government is committed to taking action.
"We will continue to support water utilities across the state to deliver safe drinking water. In addition to PFAS testing support for Local Water Utilities, the NSW Government's $32.8 million Town Water Risk Reduction Program has been extended to June 2028, providing essential tools to ensure at-risk regional communities continue to have access to clean and reliable water services.
"The National Health and Medical Research Council has said any detections of PFAS higher than the proposed new guideline values should not be viewed as a pass/fail measure but should be investigated and actions taken to bring the supply within the guideline values."
