Flinders Electorate

Mr TELFER (Flinders) (15:31): I rise on behalf of the Elliston community to voice their concerns about the ongoing water supply. I meet regularly (and did so recently) with Mayor Andrew McLeod of Elliston council to hear the latest regarding their concerns about the ongoing fragility of the Musgrave Prescribed Wells Area, which in particular holds the Bramfield Basin, which serves as a critical water resource for overlying landowners, both residential and rural, supporting livestock and horticulture, as well as agriculture.

I know that the council has also written to the government, and I want to impress on them today the importance of this subject. There needs to be proper, long-term planning around the Elliston and surrounds water supply. It cannot be ignored. The water supply for Elliston is not connected to the rest of the Eyre Peninsula system. Although there seems to be some assurance that there will be enough water for the supply needs of Elliston in the short term, I am also concerned about what additional impacts there might be on primary producers on the edge of the Bramfield Basin who have no other supply options.

This is why I am calling on the government to prioritise the investigation, the planning and the implementation of a suitable water supply augmentation strategy for the Elliston township. This is something that the Select Committee on Water Supply Needs of the Eyre Peninsula highlighted last year. We need to have that planning done and a solution put in place as soon as possible.

The EP water supply pipeline currently only extends as far as Polda, which is around 50 kilometres away from the Elliston water supply system. Can the design and costing be done for that extension? Is that the solution? Is there a niche desal solution available perhaps? I know the Eyre Peninsula Landscape Board has been doing a body of work around the Eyre Peninsula water allocation plan, which is looking at all aspects of water supply and demand. There is concern about the encroachment of the saltwater interface. There have been concerns voiced about compliance with trigger levels in the water allocation plan.

I believe that there needs to be an independent evaluation of SA Water's proposed augmentation options so that there is some appropriate transparency for the people of Elliston not just now but into the future. I know that the council and the community are keen to work collaboratively to ensure the Bramfield Basin continues to meet the needs of current and future generations, both as a sustainable water source and as an environmentally significant system worthy of protection. To ensure that, the community of Elliston needs there to be serious consideration of all augmentation options.

The community of Streaky Bay is thirsty for investment into the ageing and run-down water infrastructure that services their town. Streaky Bay is a town that is growing, with houses being built, families moving into town and businesses looking at opportunities, but, unfortunately, they are currently being hampered because of the lack of investment into water infrastructure. There has been a fair old history with water at Streaky Bay. Previously, water was supplied through the local Robinson Basin, which unfortunately was mismanaged, over-extracted and ended up not being able to supply the water needs of Streaky Bay.

A small pipeline was put in place to supply the town, coming from Poochera through to Streaky Bay, which at the time was thought to be a temporary solution which would only be necessary until the Robinson Basin recovered. It has been in place now for decades. It is still relied on and it is fair to say that it is insufficient. The size of the pipeline does not correlate to the size of the town and its needs. As well as this, there is the associated infrastructure around the town. The tanks, which are relied on for evening out supply and providing head pressure, have also deteriorated. I am informed that they are no longer able to be filled to capacity, only half-full or so, which has a significant impact on both the quantity and the pressure of the water supply for Streaky Bay.

I meet with the Streaky Bay council regularly (and I did so just recently) and hear from them about the strong level of housing and industry development happening, as well as the opportunity for more. However, SA Water are refusing many of the applications that they are receiving for water supply because of the lack of certainty around their capacity to be able to supply those needs. It is adding extra costs and extra uncertainty around development, and that uncertainty is holding Streaky Bay back.

For example, there is great potential for the expansion of the Streaky Bay Caravan Park, but can that happen without any more water? There is also a need for more industrial land at Streaky Bay, but can that happen without more water? The residential land that is ready for new houses to be built on, can that go ahead without more water? SA Water needs to be investing into key infrastructure in regional South Australia, and Streaky Bay is a key example. Provide some certainty for the people of Streaky Bay. Let's do the planning to upgrade the pipeline and replace those faulty tanks into the future and set up Streaky Bay for the future so that they are able to take up the opportunities they are seeing.