Kimberley water options rejected

Engineering company Tenix Group is standing by its belief that a canal from the Kimberley is a viable water supply option for Perth, despite an independent review panel finding this was an expensive and risky concept.

The review, chaired by the University of Western Australia’s Professor Reg Appleyard, found that a canal would cost $14.5 billion to construct, seven times the estimate put forward by former opposition leader Colin Barnett and Tenix during the 2005 election campaign.

The review also considered a pipeline and various ocean transport options and concluded they were all much more expensive than options such as desalination and accessing groundwater aquifers.

Premier Alan Carpenter used the report to try and bury the idea of sourcing water from the Kimberley, describing such options as irresponsible, extravagant and risky.

The review panel said a canal would be “the most expensive and risk-prone option”.

This conclusion was rejected by Tenix. It said the concept evaluated by the review panel, which was developed by consulting engineers GHD, was fundamentally different to its own proposal.

“The Tenix design is based on the latest proven technology available and is therefore much less expensive than the GHD design,” it said in a statement.

The company added that it “remains confident” a full feasibility study of its canal proposal would find it acceptable.

The review panel acknowledged in its report that “there may be alternative options” in regard to the design of a canal, which would require further work.

This was based on an exchange of information between GHD and Tenix.

However, it maintained that GHD’s proposal was based on “current proven engineering practices to potable water supplies”.

“The panel believes that even with alternative design options this is not a viable option,” its report concluded.

Mr Carpenter said the government would continue to pursue a range of water management options to deliver “security through diversity”.