WATER RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT — MANJIMUP
485. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the Minister for Regional Development:
I
refer to the CSIRO report titled Future climate streamflow estimation in the
Donnelly River catchment dated 25 January 2022, which states on page
41 that work done by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions shows that
watertables in the Manjimup region have fallen.
(1) Will the minister table the work
undertaken to date by DPIRD and DBCA; and, if not, why not?
(2) Will this
work be completed and made public before the draft forest management plan 2024–2033
is released for public comment?
(3) If no to (2), why not?
(4) Are DPIRD and
DBCA undertaking work on watertables in other parts of the south west and Peel
regions; and, if yes, in which areas or catchments?
Hon
DARREN WEST replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. On behalf of the fabulous Minister for Regional
Development, I provide the following answer.
(1)–(3) The
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the Department of
Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, with the support of the University
of Western Australia, is undertaking a review of the southern forests research
catchments, established in the 1970s to assess the change in watertables. Preliminary data was provided to the
CSIRO to support its modelling. A report from DPIRD will be made
available after the data has been analysed, which is anticipated to be
completed by December 2022.
(4) DPIRD is
reviewing groundwater level changes across the Agricultural Region based on
data from surveillance bores in unproclaimed areas on cleared farmland.