Power Outages, SA Water

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:27): My question is to the Minister for Water and the River Murray. What is SA Water's contingency plan for power failures affecting its assets, including pump stations, water treatment plants and gates, and what preparation did SA Water undertake in the lead-up to this event?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:28): I thank the honourable member for her most important questions. SA Water has contingency plans in place, of course, for these sorts of issues. They generally apply to backup generators and also letting water out of systems if that is what is required or, indeed, filling up tanks and systems so that the gravity feed water systems from those tanks will be sufficient to supply communities should the power go out.

It is the general policy of SA Water to talk closely with the SES and the Bureau of Meteorology in preparation for these events. We have gone through this previously. I am advised that the major sewerage treatment plants had backup generators so that the water could be kept pumping through, even those that are gravity fed, and also the water tanks, the header tanks that exist around the state, were filled up. My advice is that where there are sewerage issues that rely on energy or electricity to pump them through, we have a plan in place where teams will go out with generators and supply electricity to clean out those pits, and they will do that on a regular basis to try to reduce any risks to the community.