Water Corporation
Encyclopedia
Overview
The Water Corporation is the principal supplier of waterWater
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, wastewater
Wastewater
Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations...
and drainage
Drainage
Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.-Early history:...
services throughout the state of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. Its operations cover an area of 2.5 million square kilometres, or about one third of the Australian continent, making it one of the world’s broadest operating areas for this industry.
The Corporation is owned by the Western Australian Government and is accountable to its sole shareholder, the Minister for Water. Most of its profits are returned to the Government as a dividend to contribute to state development. It conducts business under an operating licence and a customer charter, and is guided by a Customer Advisory Council.
The Corporation employs more than 3,000 people and operates infrastructure valued at about $12 billion (AUD). Its capital works program in 2009/10 totalled a record $1.1 billion.
Formation
The Water Corporation was created in January, 1996, in a restructure of the waterWater
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
industry in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. It replaced the state’s Water Authority to establish a more business focused organisation and to separate the user and regulator functions of water allocation. The new Water Corporation saw a cultural shift to more robust planning and development. It had a more commercially focused Board with commercial and professional directors charged with driving the Corporation to achieve defined strategies and goals.
The Water Authority in turn had been created in 1985 through a merger of the former Metropolitan Water Authority, which operated in Perth, the state capital, and the water and wastewater operations of the former WA Public Works Department.
Operations
The Water Corporation:- Delivers water services to more than 1.114 million properties
- Supplies more than 369 gigalitres (billion litres) of water per year
- Collects 150 gigalitres of wastewater per year
- Operates more than 33,000km of water mains, and 15,000km of sewer mains
Main water supply schemes
Integrated Water Supply System – services the Perth metropolitan area, Mandurah, some nearby towns and the Goldfields and Agricultural Water Supply scheme to Kalgoorlie-Boulder and agricultural areas.This scheme is supplied from groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
, seven major dams in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and several smaller dams in Perth and the South West and a seawater desalination
Desalination
Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from saline water...
plant. A second seawater desalination plant just north of Bunbury
Bunbury, Western Australia
The port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...
is due to begin production at the end of 2011.
Groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
, supplying up to one half of the system’s needs, is obtained from huge natural reservoirs in the deep sands of the Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
coastal plain. It is treated at plants at Jandakot, Mirrabooka, Wanneroo, Neerabup, Lexia and Gwelup.
Great Southern Towns Water Supply Scheme - is sourced at the Harris Dam, near Collie, to supply more than 40,000 people in Collie
Collie, Western Australia
-External links:*...
and 32 towns in the Upper Great Southern region.
West Pilbara Water Supply Scheme - meets the domestic and industrial needs of the coastal ports and towns of Dampier
Dampier
Dampier may refer to:* Dampier, Western Australia* Division of Dampier, an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia from 1913 to 1922* Dampier , English cricketer playing 1765-1787...
, Karratha, Cape Lambert, Wickham, Roebourne and Point Samson in the north western Pilbara region. Its two main sources of water are a borefield in the Millstream aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
and the Harding Dam.
Wastewater systems
Towns and cities across Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
have local wastewater
Wastewater
Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations...
collection and treatment systems that are operated either by the Water Corporation or local authorities. The Perth metropolitan area system is operated by the Water Corporation and is served by three major wastewater treatment plants
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
, at Beenyup, Subiaco
Subiaco, Western Australia
Subiaco is an inner western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, situated to the north west of Kings Park. Its Local Government Area is the City of Subiaco.-History:Prior to European settlement the area was home to the Noongar Indigenous people....
and Woodman Point, and six smaller ones in outlying areas. These deal with about 290 million litres of wastewater per day. A major new scheme incorporating a treatment plant and ocean outfall is due for commissioning in late 2010 at Alkimos in the new northern suburbs, while another new scheme is in an advanced stage of planning for East Rockingham
Rockingham, Western Australia
Rockingham is a suburb and primary centre in Western Australia south-west of the Perth city centre and south of Fremantle. It has a beachside location at Mangles Bay, the southern extremity of Cockburn Sound. To its north stretches the maritime and resource-industry installations of Kwinana and...
in the growing southern suburbs.
Irrigation
The Water Corporation provides more than 240 gigalitres per year of bulk water supplies to irrigationIrrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
schemes operated by farmer cooperatives in the North West (Ord Irrigation District), Mid West (Gascoyne Irrigation District) and South West (South West and Preston Valley Irrigation Districts).
Drainage
The Water Corporation manages main drainage systems in PerthPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and some regional areas to prevent flooding and optimise land usage while minimising impacts on property and protecting the natural environment.
These services involve about 2,250 kilometres of rural main drains and more than 900 kilometres of drains in the Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
metropolitan area. Local councils manage most of Perth’s smaller reticulation drains. Corporation drainage services benefit 320,000 hectares of agricultural land in parts of the South West and Albany
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
on the south coast.
Planning for the future
To ensure waterWater
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
services for a state that is growing rapidly yet at the same time suffering reduced rainfall as a result of climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, the Water Corporation plans well ahead on multiple fronts. It aims to reduce water use and increase wastewater recycling
Reclaimed water
Reclaimed water or recycled water, is former wastewater that is treated to remove solids and certain impurities, and used in sustainable landscaping irrigation or to recharge groundwater aquifers...
while developing new water sources with a strong focus on those that are independent of climate. At the same time, it aims to reduce environmental impact from its operations.
It is estimated that by 2030, 70 to 100 gigalitres of additional water will be required, subject to the targets for reducing water use and water recycling
Reclaimed water
Reclaimed water or recycled water, is former wastewater that is treated to remove solids and certain impurities, and used in sustainable landscaping irrigation or to recharge groundwater aquifers...
being achieved. If these targets are not achieved, the need for new sources will increase even further.
Water Forever – Towards Climate Resilience, is the Corporation’s 50-year plan to deliver sustainable water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
and wastewater
Wastewater
Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations...
to Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and surrounding areas including the Goldfields and Agricultural regions. A similar plan has been undertaken for water supplies to several south coast towns centred on Albany
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
. The plans have been developed with extensive community and industry input.