WATER QUALITY —
REMOTE ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES
370. Hon JAMES HAYWARD to the minister representing the
Minister for Water:
I refer to the recent Auditor
General's report Delivering essential services to remote Aboriginal
communities—Follow-up.
(1) Has the
minister acted to improve water access and purity in the 38 communities
mentioned in the report; and, if yes, can the minister please detail what
action to date for each community?
(2) Will the
minister commit to investigating alternative methods and new technologies for
delivering safe drinking water to remote Aboriginal communities?
(3) How regularly
are water tests undertaken at all regional and remote communities?
(4) Has the Water
Corporation developed any plans for improving access to clean and pure water in
remote communities?
(5) Has the
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation developed any plans for
improving access to clean and pure water in remote 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 water
services to these communities are currently delivered by the Department of
Communities. This question should be referred to the responsible minister.
(2) All drinking water supplied to communities by the
Water Corporation meets the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines for
adults and children over three months. The Water Corporation continuously
investigates and evaluates new methods and
technology to improve water supplies for all Western Australians, including
remote Aboriginal communities.
(3) For regional
and remote communities serviced by the Water Corporation, water sampling
programs are established for localities with a standard drinking water service
as per the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and the Department of Health
and the Water Corporation memorandum of understanding. Sampling program
frequencies are developed based on the number of services and the water quality
risk. Microbiological monitoring services occur on a weekly to monthly basis,
depending on the number of services. Chemical sampling frequency ranges from
monthly to five-yearly, radiological sampling occurs two to five-yearly and fluoride sampling occurs between weekly and
six-monthly, all of which is dependent on whether the parameter is a key
characteristic for the locality.
(4) Works are
underway to normalise seven remote Aboriginal communities to improve water
quality. The project is valued at $62.5 million
and includes $38.9 million delivered through the McGowan government's
$5.5 billion WA Recovery Plan. This funding is assisting to fast-track the
McGowan government's commitment to provide remote Aboriginal
communities with access to the same standard of essential services enjoyed by
other Western Australians.
(5) In addition
to the work being done by the Water Corporation as per the answer to (4), the
McGowan government is currently participating in national discussions around a new
Closing the Gap target to improve drinking water infrastructure in Aboriginal
communities.