Narrabri Shire now has less than two weeks of safe drinking water after two of its three primary bores were permanently shut down due to contamination by PFAS “Forever Chemicals”. The Tibberena and Killarney bores tested above newly tightened national safety thresholds introduced in June 2025, forcing the council to rely solely on the Elizabeth Bore its only remaining source. With a population of nearly 13,000, the town is under Level Four Water Restrictions, banning car washing, pool filling, and limiting hose use to nighttime hours.
Narrabri Shire Mayor Darrell Tiemens says he first alerted the NSW government to the looming crisis in December 2023 ten months before the bores were shut. “We warned them about the new Drinking Water Guidelines and the risk to our supply,” he said. “Now we’re facing emergency restrictions, and it’s unacceptable.” The council insists it never used PFAS-laden firefighting foam or industrial products, yet bears the brunt of a contamination it didn’t cause.
A recent NSW parliamentary inquiry into PFAS in water supplies recommended that Narrabri residents be offered Blood Testing following the 2024 detection of PFAS in local bores. These “forever chemicals,” once common in firefighting foams and non-stick coatings, persist in soil and water for decades and are linked to health risks including thyroid disease and certain cancers. Despite the alarm, no public health screening program has yet been rolled out.
In response, NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson announced emergency measures, including a $50,000 state-funded pump to double the Elizabeth Bore’s output from 45 to 80 litres per second. Officials also pledged readiness to deploy Water Carting, bottled water distribution, and temporary purification systems if needed. But council general manager Eloise Chaplain stressed that strict conservation must precede infrastructure fixes the bore must reach 80% capacity before the new pump can be safely installed.
The bigger challenge lies ahead: finding a sustainable, uncontaminated water source. Authorities fear drilling new bores could simply tap into the same PFAS plume. “We don’t want to invest in another bore that’s also contaminated,” said Jane Shepherd, director of water utilities at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. A temporary treatment plant is under consideration, but cost and logistics remain hurdles.
Narrabri’s crisis is a stark warning for rural Australia: outdated chemical legacies can poison the present. While emergency pumps and bottled water offer short-term relief, they cannot replace clean, secure groundwater. The town’s plight demands not just technical fixes, but systemic accountability who allowed PFAS to seep into aquifers, and who will pay to undo the damage? Clean Water Is A Right, Not A Privilege And Narrabri Won’t Be The Last To Fight For It.
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