❓ Mr. Catania inquires about the Murchison Program water treatment trial, its results, and potential wider adoption. The Minister responds, indicating a centralised treatment plant is preferred over individual units for these towns.
AnsweredQoN 2087Legislative Assembly
Asked
12 September 2017
Member
Portfolio
Water; Fisheries; Forestry; Innovation and ICT; Science
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to a Water Corporation trial known as the Murchison Program, introduced by the previous Minister for Water, to improve aesthetic water quality being conducted in several Murchison towns: (a) how
many water treatment units were fitted in each of the following towns as part
of the trial: (i) Cue; (ii) Meekatharra; (iii) Mt Magnet; and (iv) Sandstone; (b) for the same towns, how many recipients of trial units were residential and how many were commercial; (c) what were the results of the trial; (d) does the Minister support wider-scale adoption of water treatment options trialled in the Murchison and at what cost could this be achieved; (e) has Water Corporation identified a more economical way to improve water quality in these towns; and (f) if the Minister doesn’t support implementing water treatment on a wider scale, how will these towns endure the impacts of low-quality water on their households and businesses?
many water treatment units were fitted in each of the following towns as part
of the trial: (i) Cue; (ii) Meekatharra; (iii) Mt Magnet; and (iv) Sandstone; (b) for the same towns, how many recipients of trial units were residential and how many were commercial; (c) what were the results of the trial; (d) does the Minister support wider-scale adoption of water treatment options trialled in the Murchison and at what cost could this be achieved; (e) has Water Corporation identified a more economical way to improve water quality in these towns; and (f) if the Minister doesn’t support implementing water treatment on a wider scale, how will these towns endure the impacts of low-quality water on their households and businesses?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
12 October 2017
Responded by
Minister for Water; Fisheries; Forestry; Innovation and ICT; Science
Response time
8 days
(a)(i) 14. (ii)-(iii)-(iv) Nil. The trial program was in Cue with the learnings used for the localities of Meekatharra, Mt Magnet and Sandstone.
(b) (i) 12 residential and 2 commercial. (ii)-(iii)-(iv) Nil.
(c) The reverse osmosis units performed effectively removing salts, improving taste and reducing scale formation, while the softeners’ performance was variable.
(d) For these towns, it is more cost effective to implement a centralised water treatment facility. However, household-scale technology may have applications in other locations.
(e) Yes.
(f) The Water Corporation is progressing with a three-year project to build a centralised water treatment plant at the four towns in the Murchison region, starting with Cue.
(b) (i) 12 residential and 2 commercial. (ii)-(iii)-(iv) Nil.
(c) The reverse osmosis units performed effectively removing salts, improving taste and reducing scale formation, while the softeners’ performance was variable.
(d) For these towns, it is more cost effective to implement a centralised water treatment facility. However, household-scale technology may have applications in other locations.
(e) Yes.
(f) The Water Corporation is progressing with a three-year project to build a centralised water treatment plant at the four towns in the Murchison region, starting with Cue.
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