Aboriginal elders to provide clean water for Walgett after NSW government short-term solution fails

Ricky Townsend said they wanted to make sure people in Walgett had safe, clean water to drink. (ABC Western Plains: Kenji Sato)

Aboriginal elders in western New South Wales say they will provide free filtered drinking water for their remote community after repeated failures by the state and local government to do so. 

NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson visited Walgett in April to announce a return to water from the Namoi River by May 3, as part of a "short-term" solution to fix the town's long-term water quality issues.