WATER DEFICIENCY DECLARATION — ESPERANCE
159. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the minister representing the
Minister for Water:
I refer to the recent water
deficiency declaration for the localities of Salmon Gums and Grass Patch within
the Shire of Esperance.
(1) Will affected
farmers be permitted access to water from Water Corporation dams located at Salmon
Gums and Grass Patch for the purposes of —
(a) crop spraying; and
(b) livestock watering?
(2) Is the
minister aware that several farmers in the Salmon Gum locality have exhausted
supplies of potable water for drinking and domestic household purposes?
(3) As it costs
approximately $32 a kilolitre for these farmers to truck potable drinking water
to their farms, will the state government provide access to potable water for
domestic use to these farmers at rates equivalent
to those currently levied by the Water Corporation—$1.89 per kilolitre—for
farmers in the area who have access to scheme water?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for some notice
of the question.
(1) The drinking
water dam at Grass Patch and the Salmon Gums quarry dam currently do not have
sufficient water stored in them to allow access for either crop spraying or
livestock water.
(2) The
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and Water Corporation have
been made aware of the issue of potable water supply for some farmers in Salmon
Gums.
(3) Water
Corporation is currently carting drinking water supplies to both Salmon Gums
and Grass Patch due to a lack of local supplies of suitable quality. This water
is provided only to customers who are connected to its networks at the listed
tariff. Water Corporation have confirmed the nearest available potable water is
located in Gibson. This standpipe is coin-operated at a cost of $1 per 333
litres, or approximately $3 per kilolitre.