❓ Hon Giz Watson questions the WA government on uranium levels in drinking water, existing standards, monitoring practices, and public notification protocols. The government provides information on compliance with Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and identifies communities exceeding the limit.
AnsweredQoN 19Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
(1) What is the current West Australian drinking water standard relating to uranium content?
(2) If there are no standards in respect of question (1), why not?
(3) Are records kept of drinking water supplies containing uranium?
(4) If no to question (3), why not?
(5) If yes to (3), will the Minister table the latest set of data?
(6) Are there any requirements for residents to be informed of high levels of uranium content in water?
(7) If no to question (6), why not?
(2) If there are no standards in respect of question (1), why not?
(3) Are records kept of drinking water supplies containing uranium?
(4) If no to question (3), why not?
(5) If yes to (3), will the Minister table the latest set of data?
(6) Are there any requirements for residents to be informed of high levels of uranium content in water?
(7) If no to question (6), why not?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
9 March 2009
Responded by
Minister for Transport representing the Minister for Health
Response time
116 days
(1) The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2004 (ADWG) prescribes a maximum limit of 20 parts per billion (ppb) for uranium content in drinking water.
(2) Not applicable.
(3) Records of uranium levels in drinking water are kept for drinking water schemes supplied by the Water Corporation and Department of Housing [in respect of the Department's Remote Aboriginal Essential Services Provider (RAESP) role in remote Aboriginal communities].
Uranium has not been tested in drinking water schemes supplied by AqWest, Busselton Water, Pilbara Iron and Rottnest Island.
(4) Monitoring uranium content in drinking water supplies was not required under old operating licenses held by AqWest, Busselton Water, Pilbara Iron and Rottnest Island. New operating licenses, issued by the Economic Regulation Authority in August and November 2008, empower the Department of Health to require AqWest, Busselton Water, Pilbara Iron and Rottnest Island to incorporate Uranium testing into routine water quality monitoring programs. This is currently underway.
(5) Uranium levels in all Water Corporation drinking water schemes comply with the ADWG as at 30 November 2008. Uranium levels at the RAESP community drinking water schemes comply with the ADWG except for the following communities (as at 9 December 2008):
§ Parngurr: 25 ppb (Community notified 23 February 2006).
§ Yandeyarra: 31 ppb (Community notified 29 April 2008).
(6) Yes. The Department of Health requires drinking water service providers to notify residents where ADWG health guideline values for uranium content in drinking water are exceeded.
(7) Not applicable.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
(2) Not applicable.
(3) Records of uranium levels in drinking water are kept for drinking water schemes supplied by the Water Corporation and Department of Housing [in respect of the Department's Remote Aboriginal Essential Services Provider (RAESP) role in remote Aboriginal communities].
Uranium has not been tested in drinking water schemes supplied by AqWest, Busselton Water, Pilbara Iron and Rottnest Island.
(4) Monitoring uranium content in drinking water supplies was not required under old operating licenses held by AqWest, Busselton Water, Pilbara Iron and Rottnest Island. New operating licenses, issued by the Economic Regulation Authority in August and November 2008, empower the Department of Health to require AqWest, Busselton Water, Pilbara Iron and Rottnest Island to incorporate Uranium testing into routine water quality monitoring programs. This is currently underway.
(5) Uranium levels in all Water Corporation drinking water schemes comply with the ADWG as at 30 November 2008. Uranium levels at the RAESP community drinking water schemes comply with the ADWG except for the following communities (as at 9 December 2008):
§ Parngurr: 25 ppb (Community notified 23 February 2006).
§ Yandeyarra: 31 ppb (Community notified 29 April 2008).
(6) Yes. The Department of Health requires drinking water service providers to notify residents where ADWG health guideline values for uranium content in drinking water are exceeded.
(7) Not applicable.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.