❓ The Minister for Water outlines the Liberal-National government's investments in water infrastructure in the Pilbara region, focusing on the Pilbara Cities initiative and improvements to water and wastewater services in Karratha and Port Hedland.
AnsweredQoN 308Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE — PILBARA
308. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Water:
Can the minister please update the house on how the Liberal–National
government is supporting development in the Pilbara by improving water
infrastructure in the region?
308. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Water:
Can the minister please update the house on how the Liberal–National
government is supporting development in the Pilbara by improving water
infrastructure in the region?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for North West for his question and his
ongoing advocacy for the north. In the last term of government he did very well
in getting a range of infrastructure and assets. No doubt, that will set a
challenge for the new member for Pilbara in order to pick up on his good
legacy.
The Liberal–National government has had a very strong
focus on the north of Western Australia. It is really the powerhouse of WA and
also the powerhouse of the nation. We have a vision through the Pilbara Cities
initiative, which was rolled out in the last term of government. Over $1 billion
of funding has supported that initiative—notably royalties for regions
funding. Fundamental to the vision of having two cities of over 50 000
residents in the north in Karratha and Port Hedland is a supply of water and
wastewater services. If we do not have that, we do not have Pilbara Cities.
Recently I had the chance to visit Port Hedland in the east
Pilbara and Karratha in the west Pilbara to look at some of the ongoing work
being done by the Water Corporation and I was very impressed by the progress
being made. In Port Hedland we have put $47 million towards building the
capacity of water supply infrastructure down to the Yule bore field. There is
25 kilometres of pipeline. I expected to see a pipeline maybe 30 centimetres
across, but it is about 75 to 90 centimetres across, which is substantial. That
gives members an idea of the size and the scale of the infrastructure needed to
support what is a fantastic vision by the Liberal–National government
to build the cities of the north. That is well and truly on track and it looks
like it will be in place by the middle of next year.
We also have investments in
wastewater treatment. We are upgrading the facility at South Hedland and
putting in about $118 million to shift the wastewater treatment facilities from
Port Hedland to South Hedland for two reasons: one is to relocate the
infrastructure into one site to manage the capacity for Port Hedland, South
Hedland and Wedgefield, and the other is to make available space for up to 2 500
houses in that area. We know the pressures on Port Hedland in particular and we
will release land to deal with the challenges of high land and rental prices.
This will open an area of land that can be made available over time to support
the growth and development of Port Hedland. That is significant investment.
A significant investment of $220 million has been made in the
town of Karratha for the supply of water and wastewater services into that
community. We are notionally building the capacity of the pipeline from
Millstream back to Karratha and also upgrading the wastewater treatment plant. That involves building a pipeline to
take up to six megalitres of treated wastewater a day from that facility back
into the community to be used in parks and gardens.
In response to a question yesterday
I said that the high cost of water is one of the drivers for developing re-use
and recycling of wastewater. If we can save that water, it is a good
investment. The cost stacks up in these communities in the north, so
investments in recycled wastewater are sound investments indeed. The Liberal–National
government's vision is to have more than 50 000 people living in the
Pilbara and the cities in the north, and these investments make those
communities a good place to not only work, but also live.
ongoing advocacy for the north. In the last term of government he did very well
in getting a range of infrastructure and assets. No doubt, that will set a
challenge for the new member for Pilbara in order to pick up on his good
legacy.
The Liberal–National government has had a very strong
focus on the north of Western Australia. It is really the powerhouse of WA and
also the powerhouse of the nation. We have a vision through the Pilbara Cities
initiative, which was rolled out in the last term of government. Over $1 billion
of funding has supported that initiative—notably royalties for regions
funding. Fundamental to the vision of having two cities of over 50 000
residents in the north in Karratha and Port Hedland is a supply of water and
wastewater services. If we do not have that, we do not have Pilbara Cities.
Recently I had the chance to visit Port Hedland in the east
Pilbara and Karratha in the west Pilbara to look at some of the ongoing work
being done by the Water Corporation and I was very impressed by the progress
being made. In Port Hedland we have put $47 million towards building the
capacity of water supply infrastructure down to the Yule bore field. There is
25 kilometres of pipeline. I expected to see a pipeline maybe 30 centimetres
across, but it is about 75 to 90 centimetres across, which is substantial. That
gives members an idea of the size and the scale of the infrastructure needed to
support what is a fantastic vision by the Liberal–National government
to build the cities of the north. That is well and truly on track and it looks
like it will be in place by the middle of next year.
We also have investments in
wastewater treatment. We are upgrading the facility at South Hedland and
putting in about $118 million to shift the wastewater treatment facilities from
Port Hedland to South Hedland for two reasons: one is to relocate the
infrastructure into one site to manage the capacity for Port Hedland, South
Hedland and Wedgefield, and the other is to make available space for up to 2 500
houses in that area. We know the pressures on Port Hedland in particular and we
will release land to deal with the challenges of high land and rental prices.
This will open an area of land that can be made available over time to support
the growth and development of Port Hedland. That is significant investment.
A significant investment of $220 million has been made in the
town of Karratha for the supply of water and wastewater services into that
community. We are notionally building the capacity of the pipeline from
Millstream back to Karratha and also upgrading the wastewater treatment plant. That involves building a pipeline to
take up to six megalitres of treated wastewater a day from that facility back
into the community to be used in parks and gardens.
In response to a question yesterday
I said that the high cost of water is one of the drivers for developing re-use
and recycling of wastewater. If we can save that water, it is a good
investment. The cost stacks up in these communities in the north, so
investments in recycled wastewater are sound investments indeed. The Liberal–National
government's vision is to have more than 50 000 people living in the
Pilbara and the cities in the north, and these investments make those
communities a good place to not only work, but also live.
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