These emergency sites are specifically for fire-affected residents needing to fill small to medium containers of drinking water, up to 1,000 litres (the size of a standard Intermediate Bulk Container – IBC).
GVW Managing Director Steve Capewell said ensuring access to safe drinking water during the emergency and recovery period was the organisation’s top priority.
“Access to clean drinking water is essential, especially during fire recovery,” Dr Capewell said.
“These fill points are in place to support residents who have been impacted by the fires and may not currently have reliable water at home.”
Residents requiring larger volumes of water, including those filling trucks or multiple large containers, are asked to use GVW’s existing potable standpipes, which are currently available free of charge for larger water suppliers and commercial water carters.
The new water fill points complement existing emergency arrangements at the Longwood Recreation Reserve, where bottled water is available 24 hours a day and a water tanker operates from 8am to 4pm.
Longwood and Longwood East remain under a Boil Water Advisory due to fire impacts on the local water treatment plant.
“We understand how difficult this situation is for the community,” Dr Capewell said.
“Our teams are working hard to restore a safe water supply so the advisory can be lifted as soon as possible.”
GVW has also deployed a 27,000-litre drinking water tanker at the Ruffy CFA Station to support the Ruffy community.
For the past week, GVW’s Incident Management Team has been working around the clock from the Shepparton Operations Centre, with staff also stationed at the Incident Control Centre in Seymour and across fire-affected towns.
“Our people are on the ground every day, often in challenging and unsafe conditions,” Dr Capewell said.
“We’re working closely with emergency services to safely access our assets and keep water services running.”
GVW reminded the community that the emergency water fill points are for fire-affected residents only.
Commercial water carters should continue to use GVW standpipes.
Regular updates and a full list of drinking water standpipe locations are available on GVW’s website and social media channels.
