Some residents have been alarmed by the appearance of a white foam in the rising Katherine River this morning.
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Power and Water Corporation experts say the foam is a “natural occurrence” and is not related to PFAS contamination issues.
The river has risen sharply over the past 12 hours after another big dump of rain overnight.
After more than 200 days without rain of any sort, the wet season has arrived with a vengeance.
Tindal recorded 44.8mm overnight.
Katherine’s rain total has now shot up to 125mm for the month, well above the long-term November average of 93.3mm.
It has produced a sharp rise in the river and has produced the “dirty look” the river is famous for after the first rains of the wet.
Health Minister Natasha Fyles has said bacteria levels peak in the Katherine River during these first rains “and it becomes highly turbid”.
“The foam in the river is a natural occurrence and unrelated to PFAS,” a Power and Water spokeswoman said today.
“The Katherine water treatment plant is designed to treat water all year round and this includes when the river water is affected by the first rains of the season.”
Water restrictions have helped drop overall demand by about 20 per cent and the use of a new water treatment plant add-on, paid for by the Department of Defence, is successfully removing PFAS from bore water.
The new treatment plant has been readied for use in the nick of time, just 10 days before these first rains.
It was rushed out five weeks early from its US manufacturer by the world’s biggest cargo plane.