House of Assembly Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2) 51 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Waste Water WASTE WATER Mr WILLIAMS House of Assembly MacKillop WASTE WATER Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop) (14:54): My question is to the Premier. Why has your government failed to reduce the volume of waste water entering Adelaide's coastal environment? The final report of the Adelaide coastal waters study, released late last Friday, four months after being handed to the government, states that 5,000 hectares of seagrasses have been lost and that 'as a matter of priority, steps must be taken to reduce the volumes of waste water into Adelaide's coastal environment'. In addition, the Living Coast strategy for South Australia, signed by the Premier in July 2004, under objective 3.2, states 'to minimise high effluent discharge to the marine environment from major waste water treatment plants' and ' to increase the use of recycled affluence and reduce marine discharges'. The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD House of Assembly Chaffey Minister for the River Murray Minister for Water Security Minister for Regional Development Minister for Small Business Minister Assisting the Minister for Industry and Trade WASTE WATER The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD (Chaffey—Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water Security, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Small Business, Minister Assisting the Minister for Industry and Trade) (14:55): I thank the member for the question. The reuse of treated effluent is part of the South Australian Waterproofing Adelaide strategy and, in the last 12 months, we have made significant progress in this regard. South Australia is committed to a $150 million upgrade of the Christies Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant; $46 million of that is towards the Waterproofing the South project which involves water reuse. In the last 12 months, we have committed to a $60 million project to pipeline waste water from the Glenelg Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Parklands. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD House of Assembly The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: Sorry, sir, I could not hear what was going on. We are committed to a $60 million pipeline. The project is underway to extend the Virginia pipeline. The national average for waste water reuse in this nation is just 9 per cent. South Australia is currently at 20 per cent and, with the projects already underway, we will be increasing that to 45 per cent.