[Greens-Media] Wungong Trial More Dubious Than Ever

[Richards, Kirsten]

WA Greens East Metropolitan MLC Alison Xamon has again called for an early end to the trial thinning of forest in the Wungong catchment, saying declining rainfall makes the project pointless.

"Recent responses by the Water Corporation to my questions at a Parliamentary committee hearing confirm that there simply hasn't been enough rain to make the project, which is supposed to increase run-off into the Wungong Dam, worthwhile," Ms Xamon said.

"The Water Corporation has confirmed my suspicions that the trial has not lived up to the modelled projections, with the Corporation not even able to give a figure for the amount of extra water that is supposed to have run into the dam, despite the fact we're now halfway through the trial.

"The trial was supposed to run for 10 years, producing a total extra seven gigalitres (seven billion litres) of water in the dam by the end of it.

"Since, from 2013, the area being thinned is to be extended from the current area of degraded forest, which was poorly revegetated and probably should have been thinned anyway, to an area where there are strong environmental concerns about doing any thinning, I think now is the ideal time to call it quits.

"In its day, the Wungong trial had some potential as an idea but I think we all know now that we're can't rely on rainfall and dams anymore for Perth's water supply and the Government should direct the Water Corporation to invest its efforts elsewhere, away from sensitive forest areas.

"The Greens are calling for  a raft of actions to secure Perth's future water supply including: improved monitoring and compliance of groundwater abstraction by large-scale licensed water users; mandatory water conservation targets for all water utilities, a revised and expanded subsidy program to assist households and small businesses take up water efficiency measures; a faster roll-out of water pressure and smart water meter trials; and increased water re-use and recycling, including, where appropriate, aquifer reinjection, storm water recycling, industrial water re-use and grey and black water recycling."