Residents in a NSW regional town are being told their water is safe to drink, after toxic "forever chemicals" were found near the local supply decades before their expected spread from a military base.
The defence department said low levels of PFAS were found in two groundwater monitoring wells 650 metres away from the East Wagga bore field, part of Wagga Wagga's water supply.
The local water utility said it tested all of its sources and found no traces of the toxic chemicals, once used in firefighting foam, in the town supply.
"It is important to note there is no cause for alarm, or risk to your health," Riverina Water chief executive Andrew Crakanthorp said in a statement this week.
A 2018 Defence investigation of PFAS contamination at RAAF Base Wagga found the chemicals in soil and water near former fire training grounds.
Its modelling suggested the chemicals would not reach the town's water supply bores for at least 50 years.
Despite the discovery, defence also reassured Wagga residents.
"While these results suggest the PFAS plume from RAAF Base Wagga is moving faster than originally predicted, defence can confirm there is no short-term risk of PFAS contamination to the bore field and the water is safe to drink," it said in a public notice.
Low levels of the chemicals were also found in a West Wagga bore, which has been out of recent production and isolated from the supply, Riverina Water said.
That result is being investigated.
The member for Wagga Wagga, Joe McGirr, has written to the state water and environment ministers, urging them to prioritise the safety of the town's supply.
PFAS, known as "forever chemicals" are very slow to break down. They were phased out in 2004 after their damaging effects on human health were discovered.
Thousands of landowners whose properties were contaminated by the toxic firefighting foam used on air force bases secured a $132.7 million payout in May.
The agreement covered sites near the RAAF base at Wagga, as well as Richmond in NSW, Bullsbrook in WA, Darwin, Edinburgh in SA, Townsville in Queensland and Wodonga in Victoria.
