Kimberley Water Source

Over the past 15 years, there have been several proposals to take water from the Kimberley to Perth.

Declining rainfall and a growing population has generated strong community interest in the issue.

In late 2004, the State Government appointed a panel of four experts to investigate the viability of transporting water from the Kimberley to Perth. The panel presented its report Options for bringing water to PERTH from the KIMBERLEY to Premier Alan Carpenter in 2006.

The Panel evaluated the technical and financial viability of transporting water by canal, pipeline and ocean, in supertankers and large synthetic bags towed by tugs.

The main findings were:

• The lowest cost of bringing water from the Kimberley to Perth, matching growth in water demand, was $6.7/kL by super tankers.
• The highest cost was $20.5/kL via canal. Current sources for the Integrated Water Supply Scheme cost between $0.8-$1.2/kL.
• While 200 GL/year could be provided from the first day of operation for $5/kL, this would require mothballing large parts of existing water infrastructure incurring significant further costs per kilolitre.
• The average household water bill, depending on volumes and conveyance method, would increase by 100 to 400 percent.
• Pipeline or canal water would be 100 to 200 times more expensive than irrigation water currently used in WA, which would make other irrigation projects or ‘greening of the desert’ unviable.
• The cost of Kimberley water would need to be reduced by 80 per cent to be competitive with other potential sources. This is unlikely even with new technologies.
• It is doubtful that the Fitzroy River valley could supply a reliable volume of water for projects of this nature without building a dam on the river or massive storage nearby.
• Although the Kimberley river systems have significant peak flows most years, the Fitzroy River flow has high ecological, cultural and social values and is not “wasted”.
• Current renewable energy technology was not cost-effective for transporting the water.
• Transporting water by canal would be the most expensive, have the greatest environmental impacts and hold the greatest risks for providing a reliable water supply.

After the report was launched, the panel conducted an extensive information and communications campaign.