Over the past couple of months Friends of the Earth has received information from two GIPA requests from two NSW councils concerning PFAS detections in their drinking water supplies. The councils are Dubbo Regional Council and Gwydir Regional Council.
As far back as 2020, Dubbo (population 57,000) council acknowledged that PFAS had contaminated six bores in the town, with three of the bores used for irrigation and three used for domestic drinking water. Dubbo's drinking water treatment plant however recorded no traces of PFAS in 2020. Dubbo Regional Council is also responsible for drinking water at Geurie (population 700) where PFAS has recently been detected.
In November 2024 it was revealed by the NSW Government and Gwydir Shire Council that the small community of Warialda (population 1,500) had reported significantly high levels of PFAS in their drinking water supply.
PFAS concerns have also continued to plague the NSW town of Narrabri (population 5,500). Narrabri Regional Council's PFAS detections have been published via their website, results of which have been included in this blog.
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The locations of Dubbo, Geurie, Narrabri and Warialda.
Warialda
PFAS detections at Hospital Park Bore Warialda. Several bores at Warialda recorded low levels of PFAS, but Hospital Park Bore was the key stand out problem. Water from this bore was discontinued in December 2024. Of the four tests done at this bore over 2024/25, PFOS averaged 0.1125μg/L (14 times over the guideline level) and PFHxS averaged 0.3925μg/L (13 times over the guideline level). According to FoE's PFAS database Warialda's Hospital Park Bore has recorded the highest PFAS average totals in a NSW water supply. Another bore at Warialba, Crane Street, was also shut down in December 2024 when a PFOS detection of 0.006μg/L and PFHxS detection of 0.008μg/L were reported. No other detections of PFAS were detected in 5 subsequent tests at Crane Street.
North Reservoir supplies mainly the north of the Warialda township. November 2024 detections of PFOS exceeded the 2025 guideline levels by 5.5 times, with PFHxS exceeding guideline levels by 3.6 times. The lower levels in the Reservoir, compared to Hospital Park Bore can be explained by the fact that Hospital Park bore was shut down in late 2024 and the Reservoir would be supplied by a number of other bores where PFAS was not a significant issue. The North Reservoir has been clear of PFAS since January 2025 but its highly likely that residents particularly in northern Warialda were exposed to PFAS in drinking water for some years prior to November 2024.
Hospital Park Bore can be seen near the location of the blue pin. There is no obvious sources of PFAS although there is a theory that the site may have been used for fire rescue training prior to the park reconstruction in 2019. Also note the drainage line that flows through the western side of the park. Was something released into the creek from a location(s) upstream? Sewage overflow for instance?
Dubbo
Map of Dubbo showing the water treatment plant (red pin) and locations of three of seven water supply bores for Dubbo (blue pins). Two of these bores Driftwells and Thorby are not in use due to PFAS contamination. Approximately 50%-70% of the water supply for Dubbo is pumped from the Macquarie River. But this may vary depending on water levels and quality of the Macquarie River which suffers from periods of low flow. Ronald Bore is located 300 metres south of Thorby Bore and 700 metres south east of Driftwells. Noone knows what the source of the PFAS contamination is at Dubbo.
Driftwells Bore, Dubbo has recorded PFOS at an average 4 times higher and PFHxS 2.2 times higher than the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines since September 2021. Levels peaked in January 2025 but have been relatively 'stable' for almost 5 years. In 2014, Council recommended pumping water for the City's water supply from Driftwells Bore after a contamination incident in 2009. It is likely that Dubbo residents may well have been drinking PFAS for 5-6 years before the decision not to use the bore was decided around 2020.
Thorby Bore, Dubbo has recorded PFOS at an average 2.8 times higher and PFHxS 1.6 times higher than the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines since September 2021. It is likely that Dubbo residents may well have been drinking PFAS for 5-6 years before the decision not to use the bore was decided around 2020.
Ronald Bore, Dubbo has recorded PFOS at an average 19.7% and PFHxS 16.4% than the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines between September 2021 and September 2025. PFOS levels have exceeded the current guideline level 5 times since 2021. 4 other bores supplying Dubbo have recorded very low levels of PFAS over the same time period, so PFAS levels from Ronald will be diluted even more before treatment. A spike of PFBA occurred in Ronald Bore in May 2025. PFOS levels have averaged 28% of guideline levels between February - September 2025.
PFAS was not detected at the Dubbo Water Treatment Plant between May 2021 and November 2024. Six detections have occurred since November 2024 with two detections of PFOS at 37.5% of the Australian Drinking Water Guideline in February and May 2025. It is unclear if the source of the PFAS was bores or the Macquarie River. No PFAS monitoring has occurred at the offtake to the Water Treatment Plant so the Macquarie River could also be a source of contamination. Nearby, Geurie's drinking water was contaminated with PFOS in March 2025. Geurie sources drinking water from the Macquarie River. Water NSW has also detected PFAS chemicals in Burrendong Dam 65km upstream from Dubbo at an average of 0.0008μg/L between December 2024 and September 2025.
The small community of Geurie gets its drinking water from the Macquarie River. In March 2025, PFOS was detected at 0.013μg/L. This is 62.5% above the 2025 Australian Drinking Water Guidelines which were implemented in June 2025. Testing for PFAS at Geurie started in November 2024. PFHxS was detected in November at 0.004μg/L at 13% of the 2025 Australian Drinking Water Guideline. Over the eight months since testing began PFOS is being detected at Geurie at an average of 20% of the guideline level. Noone seems to know where the PFAS at Geurie has come from. Was it the Macquarie River?
Narrabri
Residents at Narrabri have been likely to have been exposed to PFAS in their drinking water for years. Approximate locations of impacted bores and Reservoir at Narrabri can be seen on the map above. All of the information concerning Narrabri was sourced from information shared online by Narrabri Regional Council.
There has been a lot of media concerning the situation at Narrabri with water restrictions placing the town under severe water stress and the town reported to have two weeks of water remaining in October. Killarney and Tibbereena bores were shut down in July 2025 due to the PFAS contamination. In October 2025 the NSW Department of Health allowed the Council to blend water from the Elizabeth Street bore and the contaminated Tibbereena Bore as a way of getting drinking water to the town. In November 2025, the Minns Government also announced that a $4 million portable water treatment would be set up at Narrabri in the near future to deal with the PFAS contamination issue.
The Namoi Street Reservoir has recorded PFOS levels averaging 0.005μg/L between December 2024 and November 2025. PFOS levels in the Reservoir peaked at 0.009μg/L in June 2025. The drop off in PFAS detections between August and October 2025 were due to both Killarney and Tibbereena Bores being shut down. Tibbereena was accessed again in October with the PFAS content being lowered due to mixing with water from Elizabeth Street bore.
Killarney Bore averaged PFOS levels at 0.025μg/L between December 2024 and May 2025. This is over 3 times the drinking water guidelines for PFOS as recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council. PFOS levels peaked in March 2025. No PFAS monitoring data from Killarney bore has been provided online since May 2025. Killarney bore remains shut down. No one knows the source of PFAS contamination at Narrabri. Killarney bore is located 50 meters from Horsearm Creek which has a number of land uses which may have used PFAS in the past. It could also be possible that the source of the PFAS contamination could be vehicle accidents where fire fighting foam was used in the past. The bores at Narrabri appear to be located on alluvium sediments which could be conducive to the spread of PFAS contamination, although one would think that the groundwater flow would be towards the Namoi River.
Tibbereena Bore averaged PFOS levels at 0.013μg/L between December 2024 and May 2025. 1.6 times over the guideline level. PFOS levels peaked in February 2025. No explanation has been given to the source of the pollution. No PFAS monitoring data from Tibbereena bore has been provided online since June 2025.
Elizabeth Street Bore averaged PFOS levels at 0.00375μg/L between December 2024 and June 2025, 46.9% of the 2025 guideline level. PFOS levels peaked in February 2025. Elizabeth Street bore is the 'safest' of the three bores at Narrabri. Once again though there is no explanatation how PFAS has ended up in this bore.
If you think this blog has been useful please consider donating to FoE's pesticide and PFAS mapping work. The donation link is here.