PROJECTS: DAJARRA

A small and remote area

Dajarra is a small, remote town located 150 kilometres south of Mt Isa (North-west Queensland) with high proportion of Aboriginal inhabitants. This town was established in 1917 as a railhead to the Great Western Railway. In 2006, Dajarra’s total residents are 178 (151 of them are Aboriginal).

A place with rich culture

The town also has a rich aboriginal heritage and is home to aboriginal tribes from around the Diamantina River, the Gulf and the Northern Territory.

The old culture is upheld here. The aboriginal language is taught at the school by a couple of elders and one local elder shows the children how to make boomerangs, what wood to use and what timber is best for didgeridoos. They still know where to find the bush foods and the 'bush lollies' on the gidyea trees after rain, berries, wild oranges at Christmas and wild bananas on the road to Mount Isa.

A town with SERIOUS water problems

· Approximately 40% of Aboriginal housing in Dajarra has no supply of potable water because of the contamination of rainwater tanks by the roof-mounted evaporative airconditioners.

· A drought through the years 2007 and 2008 reduced the supply of drinking water from rainwater tanks, resulting in the use of a tanker truck to cart water from a variety of locations around Dajarra

· The hard, saline bore water reticulated to the town fails to meet the standards of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Dajarra residents rely on alternative sources for their potable supply.

· Domestic collection of rainwater is the preferred source of water for drinking although in Dajarra only 60% of Aboriginal households had functional tanks in 2009.

Water-related issues to Dajarra

· The quality of the town water supply undermined the economic, social and environmental sustainability, and health of the people residing in the town of Dajarra.

· Lots of people buy their water or get water about 35 kilometres away. Some Dajarra's residents must buy bottled water for drinking.

· Residents have claimed that drinking the town water has caused diarrhoea. Residents have avoided drinking the water because of its taste, but also because of the potential effect on health. Children visited the health clinic to request drinking water.

· The cost of bottled water and soft drinks adds to grocery bills and reduces potential expenditure on food.

· The use of the bore water adversely affects infrastructure system such as the maintenance and longevity of housing and household items, and energy consumption in Dajarra.

Sources:

http://dropbox.eait.uq.edu.au/uqlshepp/DK_Tim_Water/