Precautionary boil water advisory - your water may not be safe to drink

Last update 3.45pm: Friday 28 August 2020

Emergency drinking water will be available from water tankers at some locations from 4.00pm today

We will have water tankers on site from 4pm today to provide emergency drinking water at the following locations:

• The Basin: Millers Reserve - 1133 Mountain Highway,  The Basin

• Boronia: Tormore Reserve - Tormore Road, Boronia

• Ferntree Gully - Ferntree Gully Arboretum – Cnr Dorset road and Francis Crescent, Ferntree Gully

• Upper Ferntree Gully - Wally Tew Reserve - Brenock Park  Drive, Ferntree Gully 

•  Belgrave – Belgrave Recreational Reserve – Reserve Road, Belgrave

• Upwey - Upwey Reserve - Chosen Avenue, Upwey

Customers will need to bring their own bottles, pots, kettles, etc. to fill up from the tankers.

Update 2.45 pm

As a precaution do not use your tap water until you are told it is safe by South East Water.

Power outages overnight caused undisinfected water from Silvan Dam to enter the water supply system. Power has now returned and the initial issue has been addressed, however undisinfected water is still within some areas. This has resulted in potentially unsafe water entering the reticulation system and customer taps. The power has now returned but water in your taps may still be affected.

We’re working closely with DHHS to resolve this, and as a precautionary measure, a boil water advisory is being issued until this issue is completely resolved.

This applies to the suburbs in South East Water’s service area as listed below:

• Belgrave

• Belgrave Heights

• Belgrave south

• Boronia

• Ferntree gully

• Knoxfield

• Lysterfield

• Selby

• Tecoma

• The Basin

• Tremont

• Upper Ferntree Gully

• Upwey

We’re working with Melbourne Water, who own and manage Silvan Dam, to resolve the issue for our customers.  We expect water supply to be back to normal later today (Friday 28 August).

Our teams are working around the clock to address this issue.

Until we can guarantee that the water is safe to drink again, we ask customers who live and work in the affected areas to boil their water.

To ensure your water is safe

If you live in these suburbs, we advise you to bring water to a rolling boil before drinking, preparing beverages, washing and preparing food, preparing baby formula, brushing teeth and making ice until further notice.

• Boil water in a kettle with an automatic cut-off or on the stove until it boils strongly, with a rapid stream of air-bubbles from the bottom of the kettle or pan.

• Once you have boiled the water, allow it to cool.

• You can store it in the fridge in clean, closed containers for drinking or food preparation – you do not need to boil it again.

Take care not to injure or scald yourself when you handle boiling water, especially around children.

Unboiled water can still be used for showering and bathing, flushing toilets, washing dishes and clothes and garden watering. Ensure you do not drink water when you are in the bath and take extra care when bathing infants.

Unboiled water can still be used to wash your hands.

Emergency drinking water is available

We are working to ensure that emergency drinking water is available to those who need it. If you have special needs and require assistance, please contact us on 13 16 94.

What to do if you feel unwell

Undisinfected water can cause gastro-like symptoms. If you experience any of these symptoms, please contact your GP and advise your GP about this notice.

This is a precaution

Boiling water is recommended as a precaution to minimise any health risks. Special care should be taken with young children, people whose immune system is compromised and the elderly.

We are working to return water supply to normal as soon as possible. If you have further concerns, please call us 24 hours a day on 13 16 94.

Update 2.00pm

We have identified 11 additional suburbs that may be affected by the potential water quality issue. The additional suburbs have been added to the list below in BOLD.

Update: 11.30 am

We’ve become aware of a potential water quality issue affecting 98 suburbs due to electrical damage caused by storms overnight. 

These power outages have resulted in some water entering Melbourne’s drinking water supply system and customer taps that had not been treated to the usual standard. Power has now returned and the initial issue has been addressed, however undisinfected water is still within some areas. 

We’re working to determine if any South East Water customers are impacted.

If you live in the suburbs below, as a precaution we advise you to bring tap water to a rolling boil before using for drinking, brushing your teeth, food preparation, preparing baby formula, making ice or bathing infants. 

Until we can guarantee that the water is safe to drink again, we ask customers who live in these areas to boil their water. 

We are working closely with the Department of Health and Human Services and Melbourne Water, who own and manage Silvan Dam, to resolve the issue as soon as possible.  

We expect water supply to be back to normal later today (Friday 28 August).  We will provide updates on this page. 

Our teams are working around the clock to address this issue.