Kalgoorlie's 'shovel ready' water project misses out in federal budget

A spokesperson for Murray Watt says this week's budget exercised "spending restraint across all policy areas". (ABC News: Keane Bourke) Link copiedShareShare articleIt is called Water Bank and with an estimated total cost of $92 million it has the potential to break the bank. But this "shovel ready" project designed to drought-proof Australia's biggest outback city remains in limbo after missing out on funding in this week's federal budget. While Tuesday's budget included more than $1.3 billion for the National Water Grid Fund, the Commonwealth has turned off the tap for Water Bank at this stage. Kalgoorlie-Boulder is Australia's biggest outback city with a population of about 30,000 people. (ABC Goldfields: Jarrod Lucas) A spokesperson for Water Minister Murray Watt told the ABC the budget was "financially responsible" and showed "spending restraint across all policy areas". Water Bank will be considered in "future budget rounds", the spokesperson said. Western Australia's historic mining centre of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, about 600 kilometres east of Perth, is famous for the discovery of gold in 1893. But water is almost as valuable as gold in a city home to 31,268 people, who rely on a 566km-long, 123-year-old pipeline for their drinking water. Only so much water can be pumped along the pipeline. The Goldfields water supply scheme, known as the Golden Pipeline, took five years to build during WA's 1890s gold rush. (ABC Goldfields: Jarrod Lucas) For decades, the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder has irrigated public spaces with treated effluent. That includes an 18-hole grass golf course, which soaks up about 3 megalitres a day in summer. But after signing a multi-million-dollar deal to supply large quantities of recycled water to a mining company, the city's storage dams dried up in 2023, resulting in water restrictions for the local population. The Piccadilly Street Dam in 2023 ran dry for the first time in a decade. (ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Robert Koenig-Luck) It forced the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder to come up with a long-term solution, dubbed Water Bank. The project involves building new dams to harvest additional stormwater and growing supplies of recycled water stored in 27 reservoirs and tanks across Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese first heard about the project in February 2023 at the peak of water restrictions when he met with then-mayor John Bowler. Mr Bowler, a former state MP who served eight years as mayor, raised water security, during the prime minister's visit, as the single biggest issue facing the city. "When I met Prime Minister Albanese … he gave me the indication that Kalgoorlie, at the end of the world's longest water pipeline, would be at the forefront [for investment in water security]," he said. "We never got a dollar, so I remain hopeful but maybe a bit sceptical." Anthony Albanese visited Kalgoorlie's Super Pit gold mine in February 2023. (ABC Goldfields: Jarrod Lucas) Since that meeting, the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder has stepped up its lobbying, with current Mayor Glenn Wilson making at least seven trips to Canberra since his election in late 2023. Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, and Perth MP Patrick Gorman, said he had been well briefed on Water Bank. "I have met with the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and I understand the needs and the challenges … they have done an excellent job of putting their case forward," he said. Glenn Wilson (left) and CEO Andrew Brien on a trip to parliament house in 2024. (Supplied: City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder) The city's application was for $9.5 million from the National Water Grid Fund to progress stage one of Water Bank. It was boosted by the WA government's pledge of $5 million towards stage one at last year's state election. The 18-hole Kalgoorlie Golf Course is maintained with recycled water. (ABC Goldfields: Jarrod Lucas) Mr Wilson described the "crucial" project as "shovel ready". "It's about what we can do to capture more water, increase our efficiency and create revenue streams for the city at the same time," he said. Kalgoorlie-Boulder is one of the biggest local government reusers of treated effluent water in Australia. (ABC Goldfields: Jarrod Lucas) Liberal MP for O'Connor Rick Wilson was "bitterly disappointed" by Water Bank's omission. The budget papers show WA will receive $106 million over five years through the National Water Grid Fund. The fund has previously been tapped for $5 million towards a preliminary business case for a desalination plant in WA's Great Southern. It has also jointly funded an $11.7 million project to expand drinking water supplies at Halls Creek in the Kimberley. Sewage flows into the South Boulder wastewater treatment plant, where it is processed and used to irrigate public spaces. (ABC Goldfields: Jarrod Lucas) Former City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder councillor and Liberal staffer Nardia Turner said it ignored the region's contribution to the national economy.

Kalgoorlie's 'shovel ready' water project misses out in federal budget

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