Water Resources Minister John Kobelke today announced a major review of the licences for groundwater use currently held across Western Australia.
Water Resources Minister John Kobelke today announced a major review of the licences for groundwater use currently held across Western Australia.
Water Resources Minister John Kobelke today announced a major review of the licences for groundwater use currently held across Western Australia.
Mr Kobelke said the Department of Water would undertake a comprehensive audit of groundwater licences to establish how much of currently allocated groundwater was actually being used.
"It is vital we ensure the licences that have been allocated actually reflect the amount of water being used," he said.
"What this audit will do is identify such licences and quantify how much unused water might be available for other use.
"For example, an allocation may have been made for a mining venture which did not proceed or has since closed down."
The Minister said there was anecdotal evidence that not all the water allocated under current licences was being used and this could amount to many billions of litres which could be used for drinking water, irrigation or other industrial uses.
The total current water use through the integrated water system amounted to 265 billion litres a year. Even an extra 15 billion litres could provide enough water for up to 50,000 households.
Mr Kobelke stressed the review would not include households using domestic bores and was aimed only at big commercial users.
Currently, 60 per cent of the Perth metropolitan area's water supply was sourced from groundwater. More than 80 communities around the State relied entirely on groundwater for their drinking water.
The Minister said WA had been acknowledged as leading the nation in water management and the groundwater licence audit was further proof of that.
"We know there is no silver bullet when it comes to securing our ongoing water supplies," he said.
"What we do know is that the future lies in having access to a range of reliable options, such as groundwater and desalination, from which to draw.
"This review will help with our pursuit of best management procedures for our most precious resource."
The audit will complement a $9 million groundwater investigation throughout the Perth basin that was launched in February.