we will be heading through SA soon and was wondering how to handle our water supply. Can we fill our tanks at CP or is it all non drinkable
davo
Kendo said
10:13 AM Mar 14, 2015
Hi Davo,
Up to now we have only travelled SA caravan parks. We use an in line filter in our hose from the CP supplied water. Haven't had any issues with water quality as yet.
The quality of Adelaide tap water has been a running joke for many years, it hasn't done us any harm though
Jeff
D and D said
12:06 PM Mar 14, 2015
Most CPs in SA provide town water which is what the residents of the town use for drinking, washing, plant watering etc. Some people complain of the water flavor but its perfectly safe to drink. The other option is to buy spring water from the supermarkets.
Dave
Long Weekend said
02:03 PM Mar 14, 2015
When I lived in Adelaide many years ago it only took me a day or so to get used to the water, admittingly I arrived in mid December so water was water. In those days bottled water wasn't sold in supermarkets and in line filters hadn't been invented yet. Almost every house in the suburbs had a rain water tank used for tea and washing hair. And as Dave D&D says the local residents all drink the water so it is just a matter of taking a day or so to get used to it.
But the beer made with that same water - now that was something else again!
Murray
Bruce and Bev said
09:51 PM Mar 22, 2015
we're currently travelling through SA. Generally the water in larger towns (and their CP's) are piped in and treated like you would expect. But in small rural CPs they don't have that luxury. We're staying in Wilmington, just out of Port Augusta, and the town water comes from a copper mine closed down about 80 years ago. It initially comes out brown (like bore water) and then after running the tap for a few seconds clears up, unless you pour it into a glass and look at it. But we drink it, boiled, and cold water out of bottles from the shops.
Apparently the best water in SA is at Woomera and Coober Pedy. We're off there later this week, so will find out soon enough. Water has to be purchased in Coober Pedy, but its like 20c for 30 lt from the Info centre - hardly a cost killer. The CPs there do supply water in the abolition blocks, but charge usually 20c for 3 mins under the showers
Treecrest14 said
07:50 PM Apr 29, 2015
I always use a 2 stage inline filter when connecting hose to van at cvan parks, and also when filling your tanks for free camping. Surprising the junk those filters catch!
03_Troopy said
08:17 PM Apr 29, 2015
Yes I have to agree with Long Weekend.. as bad as the water is, drinking SA beer instead is definitley not an option... blecchhhh.....
KFT said
08:42 PM Apr 29, 2015
So glad they dont use SA water when making Scotch
would make a "chivas" send shivers up you know where.
frank
snapper49 said
10:01 PM May 7, 2015
The water used in SA at The west end brewery isn't tap water rather limestone filtered spring water
The same water can be purchased 24/7 from a tap outside the brewery with all proceeds going to charity
quote
" This is very special and as many people as possible should be supporting it. The West End Brewery have a small outlet on Port Road where you can fill your water container with fresh limestone filtered water - about as fresh and clean as you will get it around the State of South Australia.
Once you could just fill up your water bottle for free but at the start of this century the realisation that a significant resource was being given away while it could be used to raise money for charity brought the Charity aspect into play. West End and members of the community formed a board of directors or a trust and started to ask for a donation from those who were drawing water from the vast well. Fair is fair; so people continued to stop here to get some water - often to fill their large ten litre containers, so it is not just a litre or two people stop for, meaning you are still getting a bargain - great water for next to nothing - but now the small donation you give goes into a fund and that fund is disbursed a few times a year via application and assessment."
03_Troopy said
07:11 AM May 8, 2015
snapper49 wrote:
The water used in SA at The west end brewery isn't tap water rather limestone filtered spring water
The same water can be purchased 24/7 from a tap outside the brewery with all proceeds going to charity
quote
" This is very special and as many people as possible should be supporting it. The West End Brewery have a small outlet on Port Road where you can fill your water container with fresh limestone filtered water - about as fresh and clean as you will get it around the State of South Australia.
Once you could just fill up your water bottle for free but at the start of this century the realisation that a significant resource was being given away while it could be used to raise money for charity brought the Charity aspect into play. West End and members of the community formed a board of directors or a trust and started to ask for a donation from those who were drawing water from the vast well. Fair is fair; so people continued to stop here to get some water - often to fill their large ten litre containers, so it is not just a litre or two people stop for, meaning you are still getting a bargain - great water for next to nothing - but now the small donation you give goes into a fund and that fund is disbursed a few times a year via application and assessment."
What a waste of good water then... turning it into West End.... The only thing worse they could have done is turn it into XXXX Gold...
PeterD said
01:43 PM May 8, 2015
If you are contemplating a water filter then make sure the cartridge is a carbon loaded one. It's the carbon that removes the bad taste not the actual fine filter acyion.
WollyandPete said
11:30 PM May 8, 2015
We carry seperate drinking water while travelling in SA or anywhere else, and we take straight out of our garden tap at home, which is in SA! Harden up guys, SA is not a 3rd world country yet! The State government is still working on it!
Pete
Santa said
11:43 AM May 9, 2015
WollyandPete wrote:
We carry seperate drinking water while travelling in SA or anywhere else, and we take straight out of our garden tap at home, which is in SA! Harden up guys, SA is not a 3rd world country yet! The State government is still working on it! Pete
I agree with you 100% Pete.
There really is a whole lot of horse hockey that is bandied about as far as South Australian water is concerned.
SA water is fine to drink, wash in or give to your dog, I can think of numerous other destinations in Aust where the water quality is way below what we get in SA.
I suspect a lot of this misinformation stems from the mid 1950's before the opening of the Mannum to Adelaide pipeline http://www.sawater.com.au/SAWater/Environment/WaterQuality/default.htm prior to this Adelaide water was pretty ordinary, however that's 60 years ago, the situation now is vastly different.
So to those who are hesitating about a visit to SA, fear not, the water does not taste bad, it wont poison your dog, eat the bottom out of your kettle or rot your socks.
Guess it's pretty much a case of give a dog a bad name and it sticks, even after 60 years.
03_Troopy said
05:52 PM May 12, 2015
Nah, it was still pretty crook in the 70's too
Felicia said
06:57 PM May 12, 2015
I think there must be something great in SA water. Went there with another couple in 1985 they had been trying to have a baby for 12 years, both she and I came home pregnant.
Lynda
KFT said
10:51 PM May 12, 2015
Lynda there is a little chat you need to have with your mother
It was not the water that got you preggers
it was most likely what you were doing ........
frank
Bruce and Bev said
08:24 PM May 13, 2015
Frank - I don't understand, my good old Mum always told me it was the drinking water that made babies........am I missing something here?
KFT said
08:30 PM May 13, 2015
Hey man, with such an experienced look on your skull I thought you would have it down pat(do you know pat?)
if you have children you must have gotten the idea from somewhere and I bet it wasn't the water.
your mum was avoiding "that talk" and hoped you asked your dad I bet.
frank
Dougwe said
08:51 PM May 13, 2015
......and here I was thinking all these years the "Stork" delivered them.
03_Troopy said
09:01 PM May 15, 2015
Felicia wrote:
I think there must be something great in SA water. Went there with another couple in 1985 they had been trying to have a baby for 12 years, both she and I came home pregnant.
Lynda
It was maybe due to what was being drunk instead of the South Aussie water
KevinC said
09:54 PM May 15, 2015
G'day Davo,
You're right to be suspicious of SA water. Traditionally there's been two water sources, rain water and the water piped from the Murray river. Now in Whyalla, which is a typical SA city, all the houses had a rainwater tank installed because the authorities deemed the Murray water unsafe to drink. It's no small exercise to have rainwater tanks on all the houses, so we have to acknowledge that there was a real issue with the piped water. In 2015 I can't say that the piped water is still unfit, maybe is, maybe isn't. But it certainly was a few years ago.
There's a standing joke about the Adelaide water supply, Seems it comes from the Adelaide Hills, where as everyone knows, there's a vast population of cows. So the cows live in the paddocks, and the rain falls, and all the cow dung washes down into the dams which become the Adelaide water supply. My personal belief is that this is just an oversimplified story, probably started by some Queenslander.
If you travel in rural SA fill your tanks from whatever water supply is available. If you feel nervous then get some purification tablets from the camping shop. If you believe the water is still poisonous and you don't purify it, then you'll probably die like the thousands of SA residents each year who drink water.
I hope your question has been answered by my post.
PeterD said
10:49 PM May 15, 2015
Kevin, I note you are from NSW. Let's cut all the hearsay, Which towns do not have treated water or water that is not monitored to ascertain that it is potable or not.
The problem with the quality of Adelaide water comes from the number of NSW, Vic and SA towns who pass through their water system sand add hard chemicals to the water flow. Add to this the Murray passes through salty patches. The quality has little to do with the number of cows in the Adelaide Hills, it's more to do with the majority of the amount of water that is pumped from the Murray.
03_Troopy said
01:13 AM May 16, 2015
Nah, it's just that SA has crook water... and you should only ever drink beer when you go there... But give that West End stuff a miss (do they still make that?) and take some decent beer with you before you go. For all you Queenslanders, you'll have to just pick some up on your way through NSW. No point in taking that XXX muck with you. You may as well just drink SA water.
Santa said
09:53 AM May 16, 2015
KevinC wrote:
G'day Davo, You're right to be suspicious of SA water. Traditionally there's been two water sources, rain water and the water piped from the Murray river. Now in Whyalla, which is a typical SA city, all the houses had a rainwater tank installed because the authorities deemed the Murray water unsafe to drink. It's no small exercise to have rainwater tanks on all the houses, so we have to acknowledge that there was a real issue with the piped water. In 2015 I can't say that the piped water is still unfit, maybe is, maybe isn't. But it certainly was a few years ago. There's a standing joke about the Adelaide water supply, Seems it comes from the Adelaide Hills, where as everyone knows, there's a vast population of cows. So the cows live in the paddocks, and the rain falls, and all the cow dung washes down into the dams which become the Adelaide water supply. My personal belief is that this is just an oversimplified story, probably started by some Queenslander. If you travel in rural SA fill your tanks from whatever water supply is available. If you feel nervous then get some purification tablets from the camping shop. If you believe the water is still poisonous and you don't purify it, then you'll probably die like the thousands of SA residents each year who drink water. I hope your question has been answered by my post.
Morning Kevin,
Most of the claims you have made here are incorrect.
I won't argue the points individually, not worth the effort.
I notice most people making claims like this re SA water are not residents of the state.
To suggest people need to carry water purification tablets whilst traveling rural SA is ludicrous.
Do a Google search re the quality of SA water! you won't find anything to support your statement.
Santa said
09:58 AM May 16, 2015
03_Troopy wrote:
Nah, it's just that SA has crook water... and you should only ever drink beer when you go there... But give that West End stuff a miss (do they still make that?) and take some decent beer with you before you go. For all you Queenslanders, you'll have to just pick some up on your way through NSW. No point in taking that XXX muck with you. You may as well just drink SA water.
Morning Troopy,
Yep they still make West End draught.
As a matter of interest what is your brew of choice? need to make sure were comparing apples to apples.
KevinC said
10:19 AM May 16, 2015
Sorry to offend you Santa. Post aren't meant to cause arguments and I certainly wont argue here.
Yes I was a resident of SA for three years, and yes I was obliged to have a rainwater tank. And yes I was advised not to drink the town water. I wonder why if there was no problem? These aren't claims, they're facts.
If you don't like to hear the old joke about the Adelaide Hills, then don't read it, but it used to be a common saying.
The comment about being nervous about water quality should apply to every vanner anywhere in Australia. If you're nervous get some purification tablets. Most of aren't and don't.
The comment about the thousands who die each year from drinking water should be taken as the obvious false statement it was meant as.
So there Santa, I hope my explanation of my statements will cool you down a bit.
Santa said
11:21 AM May 16, 2015
KevinC wrote:
Sorry to offend you Santa. Post aren't meant to cause arguments and I certainly wont argue here. Yes I was a resident of SA for three years, and yes I was obliged to have a rainwater tank. And yes I was advised not to drink the town water. I wonder why if there was no problem? These aren't claims, they're facts. If you don't like to hear the old joke about the Adelaide Hills, then don't read it, but it used to be a common saying. The comment about being nervous about water quality should apply to every vanner anywhere in Australia. If you're nervous get some purification tablets. Most of aren't and don't. The comment about the thousands who die each year from drinking water should be taken as the obvious false statement it was meant as. So there Santa, I hope my explanation of my statements will cool you down a bit.
G'Day Kevin,
No offence taken.
I simply don't have any time for misinformation designed to alarm people unnecessarily.
We South Australians understand we lag well behind the eastern states as far as infrastructure and resources are concerned, we don't need a millstone of this nature around our necks as well.
KevinC said
01:21 PM May 16, 2015
I'm glad you didn't take offence Santa. (Neither did the Queenslanders). Of course regulations change over time. For my part I still remember being warned against drinking the water piped from the Murray. I still remember the girl dying from amoebic meningoencephalitis, and all she was doing was playing under a hose in her back yard. I still remember the tap in the house connected to the rainwater tank, and it being designated for drinking and cooking. Some memories last forever I suppose.
I'm glad the SA authorities have their act together now and can guarantee the quality of the water.
And yes, even here in Newcastle we attach rainwater tanks to new houses, so i don't think SA is lagging behind anyone. I myself have 10,000 litres, and totally support this concept. But never deny history. It can't be erased or modified, and possibly can't even be justified.
However, while we will agree on most things, I will repeat, anyone anywhere who is nervous about the quality of the water available to them should purify it. That includes me, that includes you. If we aren't nervous we won't purify, if we are nervous we should. Death from waterborne bacteria is permanent, illness is at least inconvenient.
I wish you safe travels.
03_Troopy said
01:26 PM May 16, 2015
Santa wrote:
03_Troopy wrote:
Nah, it's just that SA has crook water... and you should only ever drink beer when you go there... But give that West End stuff a miss (do they still make that?) and take some decent beer with you before you go. For all you Queenslanders, you'll have to just pick some up on your way through NSW. No point in taking that XXX muck with you. You may as well just drink SA water.
Morning Troopy,
Yep they still make West End draught.
As a matter of interest what is your brew of choice? need to make sure were comparing apples to apples.
Well my preferred brew is Little Creatures Pale Ale followed by Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. But in the mid $60's to $70 per carton, so have to resort to something like Matilda Bay Fat Yak, James Squires Golden Ale or their Pale Ale to save a couple of bucks sometimes. But for a session on a hot day I usually drink Carlton Mid in cans. Totally at odds with my other choices I know, but for a mid strength it's one of the better ones. Actually there is a local craft brewery that makes some very nice beers too, Murray's Brewery. Lots of big hoppy beers and ales.
Really my favourites vary from time to time anyway, and of course the season. Summer is for much lighter flavours, where as winter is good for dark ales, IPAs and the occasional stout.
Cyclops said
04:55 PM Aug 5, 2018
Trouble with SA water is that it has passed through the kidneys of everybody and animal in the Murray Darling Basin! Just kidding.
Pete
hi
we will be heading through SA soon and was wondering how to handle our water supply. Can we fill our tanks at CP or is it all non drinkable
davo
Hi Davo,
Up to now we have only travelled SA caravan parks. We use an in line filter in our hose from the CP supplied water. Haven't had any issues with water quality as yet.
The quality of Adelaide tap water has been a running joke for many years, it hasn't done us any harm though
Jeff
Dave
But the beer made with that same water - now that was something else again!
Murray
Apparently the best water in SA is at Woomera and Coober Pedy. We're off there later this week, so will find out soon enough. Water has to be purchased in Coober Pedy, but its like 20c for 30 lt from the Info centre - hardly a cost killer. The CPs there do supply water in the abolition blocks, but charge usually 20c for 3 mins under the showers
would make a "chivas" send shivers up you know where.
frank
The same water can be purchased 24/7 from a tap outside the brewery with all proceeds going to charity
quote
" This is very special and as many people as possible should be supporting it. The West End Brewery have a small outlet on Port Road where you can fill your water container with fresh limestone filtered water - about as fresh and clean as you will get it around the State of South Australia.
Once you could just fill up your water bottle for free but at the start of this century the realisation that a significant resource was being given away while it could be used to raise money for charity brought the Charity aspect into play. West End and members of the community formed a board of directors or a trust and started to ask for a donation from those who were drawing water from the vast well. Fair is fair; so people continued to stop here to get some water - often to fill their large ten litre containers, so it is not just a litre or two people stop for, meaning you are still getting a bargain - great water for next to nothing - but now the small donation you give goes into a fund and that fund is disbursed a few times a year via application and assessment."
What a waste of good water then... turning it into West End.... The only thing worse they could have done is turn it into XXXX Gold...
Pete
I agree with you 100% Pete.
There really is a whole lot of horse hockey that is bandied about as far as South Australian water is concerned.
SA water is fine to drink, wash in or give to your dog, I can think of numerous other destinations in Aust where the water quality is way below what we get in SA.
I suspect a lot of this misinformation stems from the mid 1950's before the opening of the Mannum to Adelaide pipeline http://www.sawater.com.au/SAWater/Environment/WaterQuality/default.htm prior to this Adelaide water was pretty ordinary, however that's 60 years ago, the situation now is vastly different.
So to those who are hesitating about a visit to SA, fear not, the water does not taste bad, it wont poison your dog, eat the bottom out of your kettle or rot your socks.
Guess it's pretty much a case of give a dog a bad name and it sticks, even after 60 years.
Lynda
It was not the water that got you preggers
it was most likely what you were doing ........
frank
if you have children you must have gotten the idea from somewhere and I bet it wasn't the water.
your mum was avoiding "that talk" and hoped you asked your dad I bet.
frank
It was maybe due to what was being drunk instead of the South Aussie water
You're right to be suspicious of SA water. Traditionally there's been two water sources, rain water and the water piped from the Murray river. Now in Whyalla, which is a typical SA city, all the houses had a rainwater tank installed because the authorities deemed the Murray water unsafe to drink. It's no small exercise to have rainwater tanks on all the houses, so we have to acknowledge that there was a real issue with the piped water. In 2015 I can't say that the piped water is still unfit, maybe is, maybe isn't. But it certainly was a few years ago.
There's a standing joke about the Adelaide water supply, Seems it comes from the Adelaide Hills, where as everyone knows, there's a vast population of cows. So the cows live in the paddocks, and the rain falls, and all the cow dung washes down into the dams which become the Adelaide water supply. My personal belief is that this is just an oversimplified story, probably started by some Queenslander.
If you travel in rural SA fill your tanks from whatever water supply is available. If you feel nervous then get some purification tablets from the camping shop. If you believe the water is still poisonous and you don't purify it, then you'll probably die like the thousands of SA residents each year who drink water.
I hope your question has been answered by my post.
The problem with the quality of Adelaide water comes from the number of NSW, Vic and SA towns who pass through their water system sand add hard chemicals to the water flow. Add to this the Murray passes through salty patches. The quality has little to do with the number of cows in the Adelaide Hills, it's more to do with the majority of the amount of water that is pumped from the Murray.
Morning Kevin,
Most of the claims you have made here are incorrect.
I won't argue the points individually, not worth the effort.
I notice most people making claims like this re SA water are not residents of the state.
To suggest people need to carry water purification tablets whilst traveling rural SA is ludicrous.
Have a read through this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Australia in particular the opening statement "Water supply and sanitation in Australia is universal and of good quality." It may help to dispel a few of the myths that are floating around here.
Do a Google search re the quality of SA water! you won't find anything to support your statement.
Morning Troopy,
Yep they still make West End draught.
As a matter of interest what is your brew of choice? need to make sure were comparing apples to apples.
Yes I was a resident of SA for three years, and yes I was obliged to have a rainwater tank. And yes I was advised not to drink the town water. I wonder why if there was no problem? These aren't claims, they're facts.
If you don't like to hear the old joke about the Adelaide Hills, then don't read it, but it used to be a common saying.
The comment about being nervous about water quality should apply to every vanner anywhere in Australia. If you're nervous get some purification tablets. Most of aren't and don't.
The comment about the thousands who die each year from drinking water should be taken as the obvious false statement it was meant as.
So there Santa, I hope my explanation of my statements will cool you down a bit.
G'Day Kevin,
No offence taken.
I simply don't have any time for misinformation designed to alarm people unnecessarily.
The reason for rain water tanks is because we are "the driest state in the driest continent" South Australian building rules require that new dwellings, and some extensions or alterations, have an additional water supply to supplement mains water. https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/water-energy-and-environment/water/rainwater-tanks/rainwater-tanks
We South Australians understand we lag well behind the eastern states as far as infrastructure and resources are concerned, we don't need a millstone of this nature around our necks as well.
I'm glad the SA authorities have their act together now and can guarantee the quality of the water.
And yes, even here in Newcastle we attach rainwater tanks to new houses, so i don't think SA is lagging behind anyone. I myself have 10,000 litres, and totally support this concept. But never deny history. It can't be erased or modified, and possibly can't even be justified.
However, while we will agree on most things, I will repeat, anyone anywhere who is nervous about the quality of the water available to them should purify it. That includes me, that includes you. If we aren't nervous we won't purify, if we are nervous we should. Death from waterborne bacteria is permanent, illness is at least inconvenient.
I wish you safe travels.
Well my preferred brew is Little Creatures Pale Ale followed by Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. But in the mid $60's to $70 per carton, so have to resort to something like Matilda Bay Fat Yak, James Squires Golden Ale or their Pale Ale to save a couple of bucks sometimes. But for a session on a hot day I usually drink Carlton Mid in cans. Totally at odds with my other choices I know, but for a mid strength it's one of the better ones. Actually there is a local craft brewery that makes some very nice beers too, Murray's Brewery. Lots of big hoppy beers and ales.
Really my favourites vary from time to time anyway, and of course the season. Summer is for much lighter flavours, where as winter is good for dark ales, IPAs and the occasional stout.
Pete