Household water consumption - Bunbury
2339. Hon Alison Xamon to the Parliamentary Secretary representing the Minister for Water
I refer to the recent publication by the National Water Commission, ‘National Performance Report 2008-2009: urban water utilities’. In 2006 — 07 the average consumption per household in Bunbury was 314 kilolitres. In 2008-09 the average was 317 kilolitres. Over the same period other major cities have reduced their consumption by on average 23 percent. Brisbane reduced household consumption by 48.4 percent, and I ask —
(1) Why has consumption for Bunbury’s households increased by one percent, while the Government is proceeding with expensive and polluting desalination plants, and extensions to groundwater extraction from the South West Yarragadee aquifer to increase Bunbury’s supply?
(2) What is the Government doing to strongly drive down per capita water consumption?
Hon HELEN MORTON replied:
(1) A key consideration is that the other States have all been subject to total sprinkler bans during this period, and in some cases, complete outside watering bans, which will artificially lower consumption on a temporary basis. These restrictions have now been relaxed in some cities and consumption is expected to increase.
In regard to the supply of water for residential use in Bunbury, there was a 1 per cent increase between 2006-2007 and 2008-2009. However, there also was a 1.5 per cent decrease between 2007- 2008 and 2008-2009. Aqwest Bunbury Water Board is licensed by the Department of Water to extract water from the Yarragadee. The licensed volume decreased from 9.2 gigalitres to 7.6 gigalitres on 15 May 2009. Over the last twenty years average water extraction per annum has been 6.4 gigalitres. Aqwest extracted 6.6 gigalitres from the Yarragadee in 2008-2009 which is the same amount extracted twenty years earlier in 1989, despite a 65 per cent increase in the number of services in the same period.
(2) The two day per week sprinkler roster in Perth and the Southern area of Western Australia, and the alternate day roster in the rest of Western Australia, is now part of Western Australia's permanent Water Efficiency Measures, rather than a temporary restriction. These permanent measures are the strongest across Australia and receive greater than 90 per cent support from the Western Australian community. In addition to the permanent Water Efficiency Measures, the Government has introduced a permanent winter sprinkler ban for the South West of the State including Bunbury.