Water Utilities

With declining rainfall and increasing population, the South West of Western Australia faces a significant challenge to meet its water needs in a sustainable way. The Greens (WA) believe that water utilities have a major role to play in meeting that challenge by promoting efficiency and recycling measures ahead of environmentally damaging groundwater and desalination water sources.

The Water Corporation's Water Forever Report explores water options for the Perth system to 2060 using WA Planning Commission population forecasts while factoring in reduced supply from surface and groundwater sources. These projections need challenging on sustainability grounds. 

Goals

The Greens (WA) want: 

• significant reductions in per capita water demand through smarter water use
• transparent, public consideration of water demand management and supply options on a ‘triple bottom line’ basis
• continued public ownership of essential water infrastructure
• appropriate forms of subsidy in the interests of equity and social justice
• the Water Corporation's Water Forever projections for Perth water supply challenged through a public review of the WA Planning Commission's population projection of 2.7 million for Perth in 2060. 

Initiatives

The Greens (WA) will initiate actions and support legislation that: 

• reforms the laws governing water utilities, so that they have the function of providing water conservation services as well as supplying water
• ensure that water supply and demand management options are considered in a public, transparent way
• ensure that assessment of water supply and demand management options is undertaken on a ‘triple bottom line’ basis, and includes an assessment of the energy costs of different options
• establishes long-term, binding, water conservation targets on water utilities
• investigates how a reduced agricultural base,  due to a drying climate and the decline of oil production, will in the decades ahead limit Perth's growth
• reviews the entire structure, pricing and direction of the water utility industry in Western Australia
• explore alternatives to the present wastewater systems that waste drinking quality water, and require expensive infrastructure, including over 1,000 pump stations
• promote a limit to the growth of the Greater Perth Region on sustainability grounds
• review the role of the Economic Regulation Authority in the pricing of water services to ensure that prices for water at the minimum allocations do not penalise families on low incomes
• work to develop the inclusive processes we need to tackle water problems
• challenge the media to be more responsive to reporting on important issues such as water
• ensure the Water Corporation publishes the direct electric power consumption of the IWSS and country regions, the future supply options and the real cost of the water
• promote the use of rainwater tanks as alternative water sources
• promote energy efficient reuse and recycling of water and the use of water from sources of quality appropriate to the end-use
• set targets to reduce water consumption by industry, commerce and the community, making appropriate use of subsidies and incentives
• require water sensitive urban design principles in subdivision planning, housing and building design
• provide the size of the water-supply subsidy to be included on the water bills of customers in regional areas and towns, so as to promote understanding and provide incentives for further water efficiency initiatives and alternative options
• subject new water supply, efficiency, re-use and conservation proposals to embodied energy assessments as well as dollar costs
• opposes the transport of water from the Kimberley to Perth on the basis of the high dollar and energy costs, and the environmental impacts.

Background
The Water Corporation dominates water supply and wastewater in Western Australia. The Integrated Water Supply System (IWSS) supplies Perth and the Goldfields and the Agricultural Water Supply System (G&AWS). The Water Corporation’s metropolitan customers subsidise country operations - $330 million in 2006/07.

A drying climate is reducing stream flow into Perth’s dams and groundwater sources are stressed. Almost all water and wastewater is pumped. The Water Corporation expects water efficiency plus seawater desalination and wastewater recycling plants to become the main water sources by 2060. These plants are expensive to build, have shorter lives and are very large consumers of electricity. Water price rises above the inflation rate will occur in the IWSS for years to come.

The structure of water service provision and subsidies to regional consumers will change significantly in a more energy intensive direction. The entire structure, pricing and direction of the industry need a major review. Further growth of Perth is not sustainable.