Water supply concerns on the rise in key food-growing region north of Perth

Declining rainfall and water flow data released by the West Australian government has raised concerns about the future of water in one of the state’s key food-growing regions.

Water Minister Simone McGurk said new water management measures would be put in place in the Gingin region, north of Perth, after the government’s latest evaluation found a risk to surface and groundwater due to declining rainfall.

It concluded average annual rainfall had dropped by 9 per cent since 2011, and summer streamflow in the Gingin Brook had declined by 34 per cent in the same period.

Gingin is host to a range of intensive animal industries such as pigs and chickens, and numerous horticultural operations including corn and avocado production.

“We will have to change the way we are working but we want to support growers, we need food security, we want those businesses to continue,” Ms McGurk said.

The new draft Gingin water allocation plan is expected to be released for public comment in 2028 and is expected to include some cuts to water availability.

Ms McGurk said if there were any way of bringing forward this new water plan, government would do so.

“I understand the frustration about the timeframes,” she said.

“At the moment, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation is telling me it will take them that long to work up numerical models and to get good data on what is happening in this area.”

In the interim, the state government is attempting to reduce water usage by stopping water trading in some areas and clawing back water not being used by licence holders.

Assets need protecting

Gingin Shire president Wayne Fewster said several brooks in the shire were important ecosystems.

“The trouble with surface water is that it’s very difficult to monitor how much is being used and when it’s being taken. It needs more policing,” he said.

“The Gingin brook is one of the shire’s biggest assets. It needs to be protected. 

“We haven’t seen any figures that can prove to us that it is being monitored and looked after.”

He said the shire wanted better information from the Department of Water over ongoing usage across the region.

Bottled water impact

Groundwater taken for bottling represented 0.34 per cent of water extraction in the Gingin area.

“The Gingin groundwater area is a big area,” Mr Fewster said. 

“But the impact that 0.34 per cent [extraction] is having on the immediate neighbours to those water licences is a cause for concern. That’s an issue.”

Mr Fewster said some businesses that had expressed interest in moving into the Gingin shire were unable to do so due to water not being available.

Ms McGurk said bottled water companies in the Gingin area were operating under licences, which meant they had to pay for their licence and monitor and report their take.

“That’s different to some of the other areas around Roleystone, for instance, just out of the metropolitan area, where these were unproclaimed areas,” she said.