Attunga pensioner sleeping outside in summer after hard water broke air conditioner

Dick Ranclaud has been relying on a small fan and sleeping on his veranda when it gets too hot, after the calcium-filled water broke his air conditioner. His shower head also clogs up and his taps won’t move.

It’s a problem faced by every one of the roughly 100 families that live in the township of Attunga, but because the water is safe to drink, Tamworth Regional Council won’t investigate options to fix the problem.

Related article: Attunga’s hard water hurts, but council won’t soften stance

Cheryl Kelly knew the calcium-filled water was bad for her dishwasher, so she avoids using it all together.

However, she used it on Christmas day two years ago when there was more washing up to do than normal – and it broke.

“It’s annoying, because we have to pay the same dollar amount as people who don’t have to replace their appliances because of the calcium,” she said.

Adam Felton said he’s forever replacing the washers on his taps, because the calcium eats through them.

“If you don’t catch a tap that starts to leak because of the build up, your water bill goes up pretty quickly,” Mr Felton said.

He recently replaced a whole tap, and he had to seal off another one that wouldn’t stop leaking.

Local plumbing services suggest the town’s problem could be improved for as little as $8000.

Council’s water and waste manager Dan Coe said complaints about hard water were received from time to time, however there were no plans to use water conditioner for any of its supplies, as the water was safe to drink.

“Like many inland communities, it is a problem which arises naturally in the water throughout our region,” Mr Coe said.

Ms Kelly said she was very disappointed in council’s response. Effectively it amounts to “suck it up buttercup, it’s safe to drink, we don’t care,” she said.

Council says it has trialled water conditioning at Barrabra in the past, but didn’t find it to be effective and its use was discontinued.