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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-10-16 Daily Xml
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MOUNT BOLD RESERVOIR

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON (15:21): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Water and the River Murray questions about the volume of water being released from the Mount Bold Reservoir.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON: Recently, my office has been contacted by a number of constituents expressing their concerns about the volume of water being released from the Mount Bold Reservoir. Many live in or commute through the area and report seeing large amounts of water being released into the Onkaparinga River. Such concerns are bolstered by the current volume of the Mount Bold Reservoir, which is at 66.8 per cent of capacity, down from 76.8 per cent last year, and well below the five-year average.

Whilst the state as a whole has experienced below average rainfall this year, particularly in comparison with 2011 (the fifth wettest year on record), the weather station at the Mount Bold Reservoir has observed an increase on last year by some 20 millimetres. This is repeated across the reservoir's catchment area, with some stations reporting an increase of over 100 millimetres. The SA Water website offers little explanation, simply stating that (and this applies to all reservoirs):

Water is released on a daily basis from the major upstream storages to meet the demands of irrigators, river flow requirements and communities along the river.

The website for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board, however, is a lot more helpful, extolling that some 9.4 gigalitres (that is, 9.4 million litres) of water will be released this year as part of an environmental flow trial being jointly conducted with SA Water. That is more than one-fifth of the reservoir's total capacity, which would explain why the reservoir's volume has been consistently lower this year than the preceding three years, despite the increased rainfall.

Given that the Bureau of Meteorology and others are predicting El Niño-like conditions and a particularly dry summer, with below average rainfall, many constituents are understandably concerned that their water supply is being jeopardised, not to mention the confusion of our farmers, who will soon be required to account for every drop of water in their dams and who are also required now to apply for a water licence for those dams. My questions are:

1. What impact will the environmental flows trial have on metropolitan Adelaide's water supply, and will the minister provide the details of what this trial is supposed to achieve?

2. Was the ever impending desalination plant factored into SA Water's decision to participate in the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board's trial?

3. Given that the record rainfall experienced in 2011 has not continued, will SA Water reconsider participating in this trial? If not, how low must Mount Bold Reservoir's levels drop before SA Water modifies the volume of water being released and before the trial is ceased?

4. If, due to this trial, Mount Bold needs to be replenished by Murray River water, will the minister take responsibility and rein in NRM boards and their obsession with environmental flows?

5. Finally, given that the Bureau of Meteorology has warned of the increased risk of bushfire this summer, was the CFS consulted on the trial, which is reducing our stored water supply, and on other NRM policies, such as habitat preservation, which have led to an increase in fuel load?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:25): I thank the honourable member for her many important questions on environmental flow trials, I think, and Mount Bold Reservoir. I undertake to take that question to the Minister for Water and the River Murray in the other place and seek a response on her behalf.

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