WATER DEFICIENCY
DECLARATION — MT SHORT
414. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to
the minister representing the Minister for Water:
I welcome the state government's
announcement that a water deficiency has been declared for farmers in the Mt
Short area of the Shire of Ravensthorpe. Given the significantly diminished
on-farm and community water resources in areas of the great southern, I ask the
following.
(1) Will the
minister extend the water deficiency declaration beyond Mt Short to include
other areas of the great southern that are also impacted by historically low
rainfall levels?
(2) Will the
minister reverse his decision to remove water standpipe concessions, which will
increase water carting costs for farmers in the great southern by as much as
200 per cent?
(3) Can the
minister confirm which communities in the great southern have received support
from the Water Corporation in terms of water carting or other measures in the
past six months and what is the current status of the water supply in these
communities?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for the question.
The following information has been provided by the Minister for Water.
(1) The Minister
for Water has not received any applications to declare a water deficiency in
other areas of the great southern. An application for water deficiency is made
by the relevant local government authority on behalf of the farming community.
(2) The decision
about standpipes was made by the Water Corporation, not the minister.
Non-commercial water users will still be able to access community standpipes at
a concessional rate. The charge for water from a communal standpipe aligns with
similar scheme services in the nearest town. This creates equity for all
commercial users. Water provided to Mt Short under the water deficiency
declaration made today is available free of charge to affected farmers for
emergency livestock water.
(3) Water carting
occurs across the state as needed when small towns with local drinking water
supply schemes that rely heavily on rainfall reach low levels. Once the town's
own water supply begins to recover, carting stops and the town is again
supplied through its own scheme. In response to the current dry season, the
Water Corporation is carting local drinking water to the towns of Ravensthorpe,
Ongerup and Jerramungup.