Published on Thursday, 19 August 2010 at 12:00:00 AM
The Shire of Ashburton and the Water Corporation are being proactive in their efforts to address the coastal town of Onslow’s critical water supply, by setting up a Waterwise Council to improve effective use of potable water within the town site.
The matter was considered at the Shire of Ashburton’s August Council meeting in Tom Price (held August 18) and received a unanimous vote from Councillors.
The Water Corporation recently placed a hold on allowing any further water service connections in Onslow for new land developments, with the exception of permitting a 20mm water service to existing urban zoned vacant land on the basis that the current supply plus estimated supply of these known vacant lots would utilise all available daily water supply.
The Shire called on the West Australian Government and the Water Corporation to address the issue, after it warned Onslow’s current water situation would be dire to future resource development in the region including Chevron’s $30 billion Wheatstone LNG Project.
As a result recent discussions between the Water Corporation and Shire of Ashburton officers have looked at a number of long and short term solutions to addressing this water situation. One of these was investigating the current capabilities of the Cane River bore field and the potential of expanding this to support future growth in Onslow. Currently Onslow’s drinking water is supplied by the Cane River, which is located 30 kilometres north east of town and has 12 production bores.
It is expected that the first stage of works will allow additional water capacity to be available within 18 months. The Corporation will also be upgrading pipelines and storage tanks in the town, which along with water efficiency improvements, may allow up to a 50% increase in the number of water service connections in the town by 2015.
The Corporation is also looking at a number of other measures, including the possibility of building a desalination plant as well as accessing reasonable quality groundwater aquifer sources.
Shire President Cr Greg Musgrave said the Shire recognized the significant issues associated with providing adequate water supply to Onslow and wanted to become proactively involved in all endeavours to address this.
“One way is by starting up a Waterwise Council.”
“This action by the Shire needs to be viewed as the first step in achieving a more sustainable water supply for the town,” he said.
Water Corporation North West Regional Manager Kerrie Chapman said it was fantastic that the Ashburton Shire was on its way to becoming a Waterwise Council.
“There are a number of actions councils need to undertake to join this program including reviewing their water use, developing an action plan to improve water efficiency, carrying out gardening and irrigation training and internal water audit training,” she said.
“The Waterwise Council’s program is open to all local governments in the North West and I am really pleased that the Shire of Ashburton has decided to join.”
“I hope it encourages other councils who may be interested to contact the Corporation and start working towards this fantastic endorsement.”
“Councils who take part will gain a better understanding of their water use and there are also potential water and financial savings to be made through improved efficiency.”
MEDIA CONTACTS
Shire of Ashburton President Greg Musgrave - Mobile 0417 080 037
Shire of Ashburton Chief Executive Keith Pearson – Mobile 0407 383 788
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