Darwin residents urged to boil drinking water as dam reaches record capacity

More than 150,000 Darwin residents has been warned not to drink unboiled water after heavy rainfall caused the Darwin River Dam to overflow.

The NT's Department of Health this afternoon urged residents across Darwin and surrounding areas to use cooled boiled water or bottled water for drinking, preparing food and baby formula and brushing teeth.

Those residents were yesterday warned to reduce their water use after heavy rain flooded the Darwin River Dam's pump station and caused it to stop operating around 4.30pm.

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The NT's water supplier, PowerWater, warned of an "unprecedented situation" after consistent rainfall since the beginning of the year pushed the dam to more than 110 per cent capacity.

"This is an unprecedented situation and we have never seen this volume of water in the dam before," PowerWater said in a statement yesterday.

"Our priority is to restore the pump station and associated equipment as quickly as is safely possible and we are investigating operating the dam with generators."

PowerWater asked Darwin residents to reduce their water use while the pump station was being fixed.

"Simple steps such as shorter showers, turning off your taps and switching off your irrigation can all help," PowerWater said.

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We have a team of experts working to fix the dam as quickly as is safely possible and thank Territorians for pulling together at this time."

Borefields at McMinns and Howard East have been activated to partially meet demand while the dam's pumping station is out of action.

The boil water alert will be lifted once the dam is back up and running and PowerWater can confirm the water is safe to drink.

The Darwin River Dam supplies 85 per cent of Greater Darwin's water.

Severe flooding has gripped the Northern Territory and Queensland for several days, with critically-ill patients evacuated from Katherine Hospital as major flooding engulfs the region.

Aeromedical CareFlight said it transferred seriously ill patients to Darwin and rescued stranded residents to higher ground as the water rose.

Rainfall is expected to continue to lash parts of the Top End into the weekend.

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