Walgett Water Supply
Ms Cate Faehrmann: My question is directed to the Minister for Water. In May last year the Minister described the Walgett water supply as unpalatable and undrinkable, and she gave the community a commitment that she would switch it over to treated river water as soon as she could.
However, during a recent visit I was told that the water from the Namoi River is too dirty to be treated through the treatment plant, meaning Walgett's drinking water is still sourced from bore water, which is extremely high in sodium. The Dharriwaa Elders Group has installed one small reverse osmosis unit to purify bore water with no support from the Government. However, some people have no choice but to still drink the unhealthy untreated water. What is the Minister doing to ensure that the Namoi River is once again able to provide drinking water to the residents of Walgett?
The Hon. ROSE JACKSON (Minister for Water, Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Youth, and Minister for the North Coast): I thank the member for her question. We are doing two things. I do not agree with the assertion that the water in the Namoi River is too dirty to be treated by the water treatment plant. It is water that has water quality issues. However, properly operated, the water treatment plant in Walgett has been able to treat that water to a drinkable standard. We have been supporting Walgett Shire Council to continue to try to have the staff needed to operate that water treatment plant at the level that is required, and it has been on and off over time.
There are issues with the operation of the water treatment plant, but it is capable of treating water from the river source to drinking water standards. I continue to say to Walgett Shire Council, which is the local water utility, that it is my expectation that it is operating the plant that it has. We will support it to have the staff needed to do that but, ultimately, as the local water utility, it is the council's responsibility. I think the parliamentary inquiry that the Hon. Stephen Lawrence chaired, which had a range of findings in relation to local water utilities and some of their challenges, speaks to some of the issues that we are seeing in Walgett.
There is a reverse osmosis plant at the water treatment plant, which was delivered by the New South Wales Government. That reverse osmosis plant has not been fully operated by Walgett Shire Council because of staff issues and skill gaps amongst the staff that Walgett Shire Council is able to obtain. That is very frustrating. I know the Dharriwaa Elders Group and I know that they installed a small mobile plant in Walgett. We have funded a reverse osmosis treatment facility at the water treatment plant; it just does not run at full capacity because of the same staff issues. We continue to work with Walgett Shire Council to try to resolve that.
Having said all of that, the member is right: There are substantial water quality issues across the Namoi River and other rivers in the northern basin. The fundamental piece of work that we are doing to address those challenges is working with the Connectivity Expert Panel. That panel's work is fundamentally motivated to address why it is that, even in times of abundant water supply, we have quality issues in rivers across the northern basin and in the Menindee Lakes. I accept the premise that there is a challenge and the independent expert panel is well advanced in its work addressing that systemically.