Defence bases at Oakey and Williamtown, NSW, haven’t rated a mention in preliminary sampling program reports released by the Department of Defence this week.
The reports were undertaken to understand if per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were present in surface water.
“I really am not surprised,” Oakey landholder, Dianne Priddle said.
Ms Priddle will be part of the Oakey delegation travelling to Canberra later this month, to meet personally with Defence Minister, Marise Payne.
Defence initiated an environmental program to investigate the nature and extent of PFAS, on and in the vicinity of selected Defence properties around Australia. The testing is part of a long-running investigation into water contamination including the RAAF base in Williamtown, near Newcastle, and the Army Aviation Centre at Oakey, in Queensland.
The Townsville base found chemical levels in groundwater as high as 61.4 micrograms a litre, or 300 times the safe level.
The department will supply "alternative sources of drinking water" to any nearby residents who source their water from a bore, and to residents in "exceptional circumstances".