The State's South West will be seeing a $380 million water desalination and irrigation project, led by Perth-based business executive Peter Fogarty under Aqua Ferre.
This project is designed to handle the high salinity of the water in Wellington Dam as well as supply more water for farmers in the irrigation districts of Myalup and Collie. The Western Australian Government has also committed about $37 million to this project.
Collie Water – a special purpose company that’s jointly owned by Aqua Ferre – and farmers’ cooperative Harvey Water will be undertaking the development of the project.
“Our group and Harvey Water have worked tirelessly for several years planning this project and gaining support from our key stakeholders.
“The state government’s support was fundamental to the project and will hopefully lead to the Commonwealth government providing support via its National Water Infrastructure Development Fund,” said Mr Fogarty.
The project will involve the diverting the high-saline water from the Collie River East Branch and then treating it with coal mine dewatering water using a water treatment as well as desalination plant which will be constructed in Collie.
The desalination and irrigation project aims to decrease the salinity of the water in the Wellington Dam as well as utilise that water in the Collie River Irrigation District and then pipe it through to Myalup. The project will also entail a new weir at Burekup as well as a gravity-fed pipeline system that will replace the open irrigation channels on the Collie irrigation district.
Harvey Water of General Manager Geoff Calder has also welcomed the announcement of the project.
“Harvey Water represents the Collie River Irrigation District farmers and has been working for many years to find a solution to the increasing salinity in the Wellington Dam."
“Our cooperation with Aqua Ferre has enabled us to build an economically viable project that had not been previously possible,” said Mr Calder.
Mr Fogarty said that he is hoping the project can begin construction in 2017.
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Source: Business News Western Australia