WATER SUPPLY —
DENMARK
116. Hon DIANE EVERS to the minister representing the
Minister for Water:
I refer to the minister's
media statement on 9 September 2019 regarding the Denmark water supply.
(1) What alternative options were
considered for increasing the supply, and why were they not chosen?
(2) What is the
standard practice for community engagement/consultation when making significant
decisions regarding a town's water supply?
(3) What studies
have been done on the impact on the Albany aquifer and the long-term water
security for Albany residents; and —
(a) will the minister please table a copy
of any relevant reports?
(4) Will the
minister please table any environmental impact and flora and fauna studies
conducted along the proposed pipeline route; and —
(a) if not, why not?
Hon DARREN
WEST replied:
I
thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. On behalf of the
Minister for Regional Development representing the Minister for Water, I
provide the following answer.
(1) A suite of
options for the augmentation of Denmark town water supply was considered,
including large dams, local groundwater sources, local seawater desalination
and raising Quickup Dam.
(2) The Water
Corporation is committed to community engagement and provides opportunities for
the public to provide input to decisions about planned projects. The Water
Corporation consulted extensively with the Denmark community in 2010 about
future Denmark water supplies.
(3) All water
used from the Albany groundwater resource will be within allocation limits,
determined through science and modelling, and incorporating future climate
projections. The department is preparing a new allocation plan for the area
which will be published when completed.
(a) Not applicable.
(4) Various
environmental studies have been completed for the Denmark pipeline. The reports
are still being finalised by the consultants, but will be publicly available
once all external approvals for the project are in place. The proposed pipeline
route is fully along existing firebreaks, road reserves and open paddocks, and
there are limited impacts on vegetation.
(a) Once the environmental studies have been
completed, they will be made available on the Index of Biodiversity
Surveys for Assessments—IBSA—website.