Question On Notice No. 2736 asked in the Legislative Council on 5 December 2019 by Hon Jacqui Boydell
Question Directed to the: Minister for Regional Development representing the Minister for Water
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I refer to the West Pilbara Water Supply Scheme, and I ask:
(a) what has been the yield taken from the Millstream Aquifer each year for the last 10 years;
(b) what has been the yield taken from the Bungaroo Valley Aquifer each year for the last 10 years;
(c) over the last 10 years, what has been the total demand on the West Pilbara Water Supply Scheme; and
(d) what is the anticipated demand on the scheme each year for the next five years?
Answered on 19 March 2020
In addition to the Millstream Aquifer and Bungaroo Valley Aquifer, water is also sourced from Harding Dam for the West Pilbara Water Supply Scheme.
(a) The following table summarises the yield taken (annual abstraction) by the Water Corporation from the Millstream Aquifer for the last 10 years.
|
2009/10
|
2010/11
|
2011/12
|
2012/13
|
2013/14
|
2014/15
|
2015/16
|
2016/17
|
2017/18
|
2018/19
|
|
274
|
2,083
|
2,613
|
9,565
|
5,987
|
6,815
|
6,676
|
6,240
|
3,288
|
2,560
|
(b) The Water Corporation does not abstract water from the Bungaroo Valley aquifer. The following table summarises the yield Rio Tinto has taken (annual abstraction) from the Bungaroo Valley aquifer since they started pumping in 2013.
|
|
2013
|
2014
|
2015
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
|
Bungaroo Valley aquifer abstraction (ML)
|
206
|
5,091
|
6,482
|
7,586
|
6,172
|
6,635
|
(c) West Pilbara Water Supply Scheme total demand over the last 10 years is 116,146 ML. This equates to an average of 11,615 ML/yr.
(d) Based on forecast of population growth and economic activity, anticipated annual demand on the West Pilbara Water Supply Scheme for the next 5 years is summarised below:
|
Year
|
Forecast Consumption (ML)
|
|
2019/20
|
12,136
|
|
2020/21
|
12,179
|
|
2021/22
|
12,223
|
|
2022/23
|
12,352
|
|
2023/24
|
12,481
|