❓ Question regarding the decision to build a desalination plant instead of utilising offshore aquifers, and the environmental concerns associated with the latter. The Minister denies the Water and Rivers Commission forced the decision and states no application to use the aquifers was received.
AnsweredQoN 311Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Why is the Water and Rivers Commission forcing the Water Corporation to build an expensive and potentially environmentally hazardous desalination plant by refusing to allow the corporation to draw an additional 100 gigalitres a year from the huge offshore reserves of cheap, high quality fresh water in the Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers between Perth and Rottnest? (2) What specific environmental problems does the commission associate with accessing these reserves? (3) What specific scientific evidence is available to support the commission’s concerns in (2)? Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of this question. The Minister for the Environment; Science has provided the following response - (1) The Water and Rivers Commission has not forced the Water Corporation to build a desalination plant. This decision was made by the state government. The commission has not received any application or proposal from the corporation to draw 100 gigalitres a year of ground water from the Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers offshore. (2) No work has been carried out to determine the specific environmental problems in accessing the offshore Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers. (3) Not applicable.
(2) What specific environmental problems does the commission associate with accessing these reserves? (3) What specific scientific evidence is available to support the commission’s concerns in (2)? Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. The Minister for the Environment; Science has provided the following response - (1) The Water and Rivers Commission has not forced the Water Corporation to build a desalination plant. This decision was made by the state government. The commission has not received any application or proposal from the corporation to draw 100 gigalitres a year of ground water from the Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers offshore. (2) No work has been carried out to determine the specific environmental problems in accessing the offshore Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers. (3) Not applicable.
(3) What specific scientific evidence is available to support the commission’s concerns in (2)? Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. The Minister for the Environment; Science has provided the following response - (1) The Water and Rivers Commission has not forced the Water Corporation to build a desalination plant. This decision was made by the state government. The commission has not received any application or proposal from the corporation to draw 100 gigalitres a year of ground water from the Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers offshore. (2) No work has been carried out to determine the specific environmental problems in accessing the offshore Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers. (3) Not applicable.
Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. The Minister for the Environment; Science has provided the following response - (1) The Water and Rivers Commission has not forced the Water Corporation to build a desalination plant. This decision was made by the state government. The commission has not received any application or proposal from the corporation to draw 100 gigalitres a year of ground water from the Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers offshore. (2) No work has been carried out to determine the specific environmental problems in accessing the offshore Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers. (3) Not applicable.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. The Minister for the Environment; Science has provided the following response - (1) The Water and Rivers Commission has not forced the Water Corporation to build a desalination plant. This decision was made by the state government. The commission has not received any application or proposal from the corporation to draw 100 gigalitres a year of ground water from the Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers offshore. (2) No work has been carried out to determine the specific environmental problems in accessing the offshore Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers. (3) Not applicable.
(1) The Water and Rivers Commission has not forced the Water Corporation to build a desalination plant. This decision was made by the state government. The commission has not received any application or proposal from the corporation to draw 100 gigalitres a year of ground water from the Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers offshore. (2) No work has been carried out to determine the specific environmental problems in accessing the offshore Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers. (3) Not applicable.
(2) No work has been carried out to determine the specific environmental problems in accessing the offshore Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers. (3) Not applicable.
(3) Not applicable.
(2) What specific environmental problems does the commission associate with accessing these reserves? (3) What specific scientific evidence is available to support the commission’s concerns in (2)? Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. The Minister for the Environment; Science has provided the following response - (1) The Water and Rivers Commission has not forced the Water Corporation to build a desalination plant. This decision was made by the state government. The commission has not received any application or proposal from the corporation to draw 100 gigalitres a year of ground water from the Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers offshore. (2) No work has been carried out to determine the specific environmental problems in accessing the offshore Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers. (3) Not applicable.
(3) What specific scientific evidence is available to support the commission’s concerns in (2)? Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. The Minister for the Environment; Science has provided the following response - (1) The Water and Rivers Commission has not forced the Water Corporation to build a desalination plant. This decision was made by the state government. The commission has not received any application or proposal from the corporation to draw 100 gigalitres a year of ground water from the Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers offshore. (2) No work has been carried out to determine the specific environmental problems in accessing the offshore Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers. (3) Not applicable.
Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. The Minister for the Environment; Science has provided the following response - (1) The Water and Rivers Commission has not forced the Water Corporation to build a desalination plant. This decision was made by the state government. The commission has not received any application or proposal from the corporation to draw 100 gigalitres a year of ground water from the Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers offshore. (2) No work has been carried out to determine the specific environmental problems in accessing the offshore Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers. (3) Not applicable.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. The Minister for the Environment; Science has provided the following response - (1) The Water and Rivers Commission has not forced the Water Corporation to build a desalination plant. This decision was made by the state government. The commission has not received any application or proposal from the corporation to draw 100 gigalitres a year of ground water from the Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers offshore. (2) No work has been carried out to determine the specific environmental problems in accessing the offshore Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers. (3) Not applicable.
(1) The Water and Rivers Commission has not forced the Water Corporation to build a desalination plant. This decision was made by the state government. The commission has not received any application or proposal from the corporation to draw 100 gigalitres a year of ground water from the Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers offshore. (2) No work has been carried out to determine the specific environmental problems in accessing the offshore Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers. (3) Not applicable.
(2) No work has been carried out to determine the specific environmental problems in accessing the offshore Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers. (3) Not applicable.
(3) Not applicable.
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.