Have a drink and a chat

August 2017 | Lorraine Clarke

DURING THE last month Mole Creek residents have joined other Australian citizens by provision of not one but two modern day services: clean drinking water and mobile phone coverage.

Very few of us can imagine being unable to drink a glass of water from our kitchen taps, but this situation was the norm in Mole Creek until recently.  All drinking water had to be boiled, and even then it remained an unappetising colour.

Mole Creek’s drinking water system dates back more than 70 years when, in 1946, planning began to supply the town from the nearby Mole Creek. Almost a decade later, water was flowing.  It was collected at a weir south of the town before passing through a simple filter and then gravity fed through the reticulation network.

Without adequate filtration and disinfection in line with current Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, the town’s supply was placed on a permanent Boil Water Alert a number of years ago.

That is now in the past.

Local resident and President of the Mole Creek Progress Association, Michal Frydrych believes the end of the Boil Water Alert will help the town provide better services for tourism.

“It should, by rights, increase the value of properties and the amenities that the town can provide,” he said. “People will not rush here to drink the water – we’ve still got to provide other things – but people might be happier to stay a bit longer because there is water available.”

Mole Creek residents have also long suffered the inconvenience of poor or non-existent mobile phone reception.

The installation of a new Telstra tower has changed all that.

Telstra Tasmania Area GM Michael Patterson said “This is a significant moment for our customers in Mole Creek who have had their call answered for better mobile coverage.

“The growing use of mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets is changing the way we live and we are acutely aware of the challenges facing communities with limited access to a mobile network.”