❓ The Minister for Water provides an update on the Liberal-National government's water recycling efforts, highlighting significant water savings in Perth and regional areas, and emphasizing the benefits for climate resilience and cost savings.
AnsweredQoN 284Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WATER — RECYCLING
284. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the
Minister for Water:
Can the minister please update the
house on the Liberal–National government's efforts to increase
the level of water recycling and explain how this benefits areas grappling with
a drying climate, such as the towns in my electorate?
284. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the
Minister for Water:
Can the minister please update the
house on the Liberal–National government's efforts to increase
the level of water recycling and explain how this benefits areas grappling with
a drying climate, such as the towns in my electorate?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Central Wheatbelt
for the question.
Indeed, this is a particularly good
story. Back in 2009, the house will recall that the Liberal–National
government launched its ''Water Forever: Towards Climate Resilience''
50-year plan to secure Western Australia's water supply. A part of that
plan was some targets around water recycling and water efficiency. Yesterday, I
released a progress report on our targets for both water recycling and water
use efficiency. I am very, very pleased to report to the house that we have
saved a significant amount of water in Perth—100 billion litres of
water a year. Mr Speaker, that is 100 gigalitres. That is a substantial and
fantastic outcome. I pay tribute to the efforts of consumers out there who put
in place a range of efficiency measures to ensure we meet those targets. It
also saves them in the pocket.
Since 2001, Perth residents have
reduced their drinking water consumption from 191 000 litres to 135 000 litres.
That is a fantastic outcome and is certainly making a contribution. As well as
meeting consumption targets, we have substantially increased water recycling
levels. Water recycling levels have increased about 75 per cent over the past
10 years; that is, another 21 billion litres of water have been saved each
year. I want to highlight the significant recycling effort in regional areas.
One of the drivers for that is the fact the cost to produce water is
significantly higher in regional areas. That is a strong driver to put in place
solid recycling practices. There are around 80 recycling schemes throughout the
state, of which 67 are in regional parts of the state.
Although it was a good story on the
front page of The West Australian today, I was a little disappointed with the headline because I do not think it
depicts the practices. Dean Alston's cartoon reflected what is
happening in parks and gardens. People do not realise that an oval that is
regularly used for sporting groups, McGillivray Oval—in fact, there was
an article in a previous The West
Australian —is using recycled water for irrigation. Significant
numbers of parks and gardens are already using recycled water to conserve water
in this state. A total of 5.9 billion litres is used to irrigate public open
space. Examples in regional areas include sports ovals in Port Hedland and
Karratha. Golf courses in Broome, Kalbarri and Busselton are also making
significant contributions in terms of using recycled water.
Industry is also playing its part.
In the member for Wagin's electorate, the Boddington goldmine recycles
about 500 million litres of water per day. That is a significant contribution.
It is important to highlight as we head towards our target of 30 per cent
recycling by 2030 that we are well on the way to that target. We have just
completed a trial of groundwater replenishment. That process is working through
cabinet as we speak. We hope that process will make a significant contribution
to support our city's future drinking water needs. It is important to
note that by saving and using wastewater, and using more efficient measures, we
are saving water. Those two processes are the cheapest water we can find. If we
save water from being produced through desalination plants, that is a cheap
source of water and will assist our population growth. This is a fantastic
report for members to read. It is a good report card for the Liberal–National
government.
for the question.
Indeed, this is a particularly good
story. Back in 2009, the house will recall that the Liberal–National
government launched its ''Water Forever: Towards Climate Resilience''
50-year plan to secure Western Australia's water supply. A part of that
plan was some targets around water recycling and water efficiency. Yesterday, I
released a progress report on our targets for both water recycling and water
use efficiency. I am very, very pleased to report to the house that we have
saved a significant amount of water in Perth—100 billion litres of
water a year. Mr Speaker, that is 100 gigalitres. That is a substantial and
fantastic outcome. I pay tribute to the efforts of consumers out there who put
in place a range of efficiency measures to ensure we meet those targets. It
also saves them in the pocket.
Since 2001, Perth residents have
reduced their drinking water consumption from 191 000 litres to 135 000 litres.
That is a fantastic outcome and is certainly making a contribution. As well as
meeting consumption targets, we have substantially increased water recycling
levels. Water recycling levels have increased about 75 per cent over the past
10 years; that is, another 21 billion litres of water have been saved each
year. I want to highlight the significant recycling effort in regional areas.
One of the drivers for that is the fact the cost to produce water is
significantly higher in regional areas. That is a strong driver to put in place
solid recycling practices. There are around 80 recycling schemes throughout the
state, of which 67 are in regional parts of the state.
Although it was a good story on the
front page of The West Australian today, I was a little disappointed with the headline because I do not think it
depicts the practices. Dean Alston's cartoon reflected what is
happening in parks and gardens. People do not realise that an oval that is
regularly used for sporting groups, McGillivray Oval—in fact, there was
an article in a previous The West
Australian —is using recycled water for irrigation. Significant
numbers of parks and gardens are already using recycled water to conserve water
in this state. A total of 5.9 billion litres is used to irrigate public open
space. Examples in regional areas include sports ovals in Port Hedland and
Karratha. Golf courses in Broome, Kalbarri and Busselton are also making
significant contributions in terms of using recycled water.
Industry is also playing its part.
In the member for Wagin's electorate, the Boddington goldmine recycles
about 500 million litres of water per day. That is a significant contribution.
It is important to highlight as we head towards our target of 30 per cent
recycling by 2030 that we are well on the way to that target. We have just
completed a trial of groundwater replenishment. That process is working through
cabinet as we speak. We hope that process will make a significant contribution
to support our city's future drinking water needs. It is important to
note that by saving and using wastewater, and using more efficient measures, we
are saving water. Those two processes are the cheapest water we can find. If we
save water from being produced through desalination plants, that is a cheap
source of water and will assist our population growth. This is a fantastic
report for members to read. It is a good report card for the Liberal–National
government.
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