[Greens-Media] Govt going backwards on River contamination

[Richards, Kirsten]

Yesterday's release of reports by the Swan River Trust into contaminants in our rivers confirm that the Government has been making all the wrong decisions in terms of tackling the problem, the Greens claimed today.

The comments follow the release by the Swan River Trust of reports into the toxins and contaminants leached into the Swan and Canning Rivers.  The reports confirmed previous studies by the Department of Water and called for a better understanding of the connection between drains and our rivers.

"Now is the time to keep funding initiatives which are designed to reduce the amount and variety of contaminants reaching our waterways," said Alison Xamon Greens spokesperson for Water.

"Instead we are going in the completely opposite direction, with the windup of the programs which were attempting to address this critical issue.

"An environmental risk assessment project focussed on preventing contaminants reaching drains  finished up in the middle of the year.  The Quality Water Improvement Program was also due to finish at this time, but received a last-gasp source of funding, but will once again be in the same position at the end of this current financial year.

"Creating short-term programs that lose their funding just as they are starting to have an impact is a poor way to approach this issue."

"Apart from Perth NRM, we have also seen funding for the Quality Water Improvement Program threatened, which monitors water quality in fifteen catchments across Perth.

"We know that it is far cheaper to prevent contamination than it is to clean up after the fact.  In 2009 that State Government put $1.15 million into rehabilitating the Anvil Way artificial wetlands and yet only $250,000 into assisting Perth Region NRM stop contaminants from entering that catchment in the first place."

Turnover of staff in small to medium business enterprises means that education and assistance for these businesses to control their wastewater needs to be ongoing.

"We know that the bulk of employment and economic activity is generated by small to medium business enterprises and that it is likely that the collective impact of their activities on the environment is similarly high.  These businesses need assistance to keep their cumulative environmental impact low," she said.

"Our rivers are a central part of the lives of many who live in Perth.  Simply, we need to be doing far more to ensure their health," Ms Xamon concluded