And Blayney Shire Councillor Bruce Reynolds said it's important the community surrounding the area be aware of these results.

"Since the tailings dam collapse in 2018 some community members have been testing their water to determine any levels of metals in the water," Cr Reynolds said.

"Recently a number of the residents, and myself as a councillor, have noticed quite high levels of dust in the air and have repeated testing in December 2022, and more residents tested their water in late February.

"Some of those test results were extremely high in some heavy metals including, nickel, zinc, lead and in some cases arsenic as well as elevated levels of copper."

Cr Reynolds said results have been sent to the Environmental Protection Authority but to date have received a less than satisfactory response, even after Newcrest was fined $15,000 in August of 2022 for dust issues.

"The EPA has said that there currently isn't enough evidence to undertake any investigation, which is disappointing as they are trusted to enforcing compliance and protect our community," Cr Reynolds said.

A spokesperson for the Cadia Community Sustainability Network said the community was approached by Associate Professor Dr Ian Wright, from the University of Western Sydney to do a pilot study on drinking water in the region.

"Our initial small sample set was tested and results were received in February," the spokesperson said.

"The results showed some rainwater tanks seemed to have accumulated heavy metal in the bottom of the tank."

"CCSN retested the initial samples, adding in some extras from different locations in the region, this time using a different lab, and this scoping exercise confirmed the preliminary results. In total we have now tested 40 residents in the district.

"We have provided the information to the Environmental Protection Agency and NSW Health. NSW Health is planning to retest the pilot study to determine next steps."

A spokesperson for NSW Health said Western NSW Local Health District does not conduct investigations into environmental or ecological factors which may broadly impact the management of water collected privately, including rainwater, surface water or groundwater.

"While it is not common practice, if concern is raised regarding the safety of rainwater used for drinking, the District's PHU does assist householders with water management on occasion," the spokesperson said.

"In this case the District Public Health Unit will conduct additional sampling and testing of the drinking water at a number of those residences supplied only by rainwater, to assist residents in identifying any potential contamination which could pose a health risk.

"Should the District's testing return results outside the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines at any residence, the PHU will provide support and advice to assess and identify immediate sources of contamination and rectify any issues of concern."

A spokesperson for Newcrest Mining's Cadia Valley Operations said that the company has been made aware that some members of the local community recently undertook self-testing on their drinking water tanks that has shown elevated levels of contaminants.

"We've been part of the community for many years and are taking what we have been told seriously, as historical monitoring data shared with the community and regulator does not appear to correlate with what we have been told," the spokesperson said.

"Like others, we want to understand what is behind the findings and want to work with the community to do this.

"This is our focus and a critical step to ensure the appropriate course of action can be determined, rather than determining actions based on what may or may not be the cause, which is unknown."

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