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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-11-17 Daily Xml
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WATER SECURITY

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD (Chaffey—Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water Security) (14:22): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: I am pleased to advise the house today about important changes to water restrictions that provide South Australians with more flexible watering times, while still maintaining our annual target for level 3 enhanced restrictions. As of today householders can water their gardens using drippers or a handheld hose fitted with a trigger nozzle for a maximum of five hours per week on any day of the week. This is an extra two hours each week compared with previous summers. The odds and evens system will no longer apply, but the hours of watering—6am to 9am and 6pm to 9pm—remain unchanged.

This decision to introduce greater flexibility follows analysis of the latest data on storages, supply and demand, and evaporation rates that indicate we can use the improved rainfall and lower water use over winter without jeopardising our future water supplies over the long hot summer. South Australians have done a great job in conserving water—which has put us in a better position as this summer approaches.

Of course, the government will continue to keep a close eye on water use and reassess the situation on a month-by-month basis. As long as South Australians continue to comply with these restrictions and conserve as much water as they can, we should be able to maintain the greater flexibility throughout summer.

This government is committed to ensuring that the state's water supply remains secure. Final figures for inflows into the Murray-Darling Basin for October have also allowed us to increase allocations for River Murray irrigators within South Australia. Allocations have increased to 48 per cent from 46 per cent last month.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Bragg is warned.

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: We have also informed irrigators that they will be able to carry over unused water into the 2010-11 water year. The Premier and I yesterday visited the Adelaide desalination plant to view the 2,400 tonne Santa Fe jack-up barge—one of the largest vessels of its kind currently being used in Australia for the construction of water infrastructure projects. This is a key milestone for the desalination plant as it allows key marine works to be undertaken, including the installation of the intake and outfall diffusers that will connect into the under seabed tunnels.

The state government has also been successful in gaining federal funding to support a total investment of $150 million in local stormwater projects. The new projects, along with other committed schemes, will assist South Australia to more than triple the annual stormwater harvest from our current six gigalitres to more than 20 gigalitres. South Australian stormwater projects will receive more than $65 million in federal government funding from the federal government's Water for the Future package and the state government has committed $45 million and local councils and other partners will fund the balance.

One of the key elements in ensuring that people are aware of our water conservation measures is an effective communication strategy, and on that we also rely on our news media to clearly relay our message. Therefore, it was extremely disappointing to read today's Australian newspaper and the factual errors in its story on watering times and the pumping policy for Eyre Peninsula. I have today written a letter to the editor in which I have requested not only a correction in tomorrow's Australian but also free advertising prominently displayed to counter the glaring factual errors and false impression conveyed in today's story. The story incorrectly stated the number of hours people will be able to use water. Water security is one of the greatest issues facing South Australia, and it is imperative that the community is accurately informed of our conservation strategies. We cannot allow factual errors to go uncorrected.

The government has a commitment to the water security of all South Australians, not just those living in metropolitan Adelaide. That is why SA Water will this week begin to supplement existing water supplies to Eyre Peninsula communities, including Ceduna and Streaky Bay, with River Murray water. A reduction in allocations of groundwater from southern Eyre Peninsula means that SA Water will provide approximately 20 per cent of River Murray water (or 600 megalitres a year) to top up supplies to customers on the state's West Coast. The reduction in the groundwater supplies is a consequence of drought.

The water is being delivered by the Iron Knob to Kimba pipeline, which was built two years ago. The capacity of that pipeline is 1.4 gigalitres. Importantly, no new water is being taken, as the 600 megalitres has been sourced from SA Water's existing River Murray licences, which in recent years have been supplemented by purchases from existing users. This represents less than 0.3 of a per cent of SA Water's total River Murray water licences for the state.

In addition to maximising the use of this existing pipeline, we have this year fast-tracked investigations into a desalination plant for the Eyre Peninsula. This government is doing the responsible thing. We are ensuring that the people west of Lock have a secure source of water in the short to medium term, and we are also planning ahead for their future needs.

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