NSW Health to test for heavy metal contamination in private rainwater tanks near regional goldmine

Health authorities are conducting water testing after residents reported heavy metal contamination in some household rainwater tanks near the Cadia goldmine in western New South Wales.

Representatives from NSW Health attended a community meeting hosted by the Cadia Community Sustainability Network on Sunday, after a number of people who live near the mine had their rainwater tested. Residents suggested that dust from the mine had settled on their roofs and been washed into tanks.

Most properties within a 15km radius of the mine, which is about 22km from Orange, rely on rainwater for their potable water supply.

A spokesperson for Newcrest Mining, which operates the goldmine, said it had been told about some water testing results from some residents but that the contamination did not correlate with the results of their own air quality monitoring programs.

It added that management of private water supplies such as rainwater tanks was ultimately the responsibility of the householder.

The company said it wanted to work with the community but stressed that any support it was offering locals who say their water has been affected was in line with support it would ordinarily offer its neighbours.

Guardian Australia understands Cadia offered to arrange a laundry service and to deliver drinking water to one resident, who reported feeling unsafe using their tank water after tests ordered by the resident showed significantly elevated levels of lead and other contaminants.