Water Minister Dave Kelly today announced that the City of Albany would receive a grant of $62,000, which will fund a project to enable the use of water runoff from the Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre's roof.
The City of Albany joins nine regional communities that will benefit from the first round of the McGowan Government's $3.2 million Community Water Supplies Partnership Program.
The City is one of nine local governments to receive funding in this new two-year program, which expands on the previous Water Supply Program and is jointly funded by the State and Commonwealth Governments.
Many communities in the State's Great Southern have experienced significantly reduced rainfall as a result of climate change.
The Community Water Supplies Partnership Program, in partnership with local government, provides project funding to a maximum of $100,000, and is part of the McGowan Government's ongoing commitment to help local governments and regional communities secure additional non-potable water sources and develop longer-term solutions for dealing with the impacts of climate change.
The project will allow the installation of two 250 kilolitre capacity tanks and associated pipework infrastructure to capture runoff from the leisure centre roof, which will be used for irrigation of sporting ovals and the centre's toilet flushing systems.
It is estimated the project will reduce scheme water use by 3 million litres per year, resulting in annual cost savings of $19,000. The grant is co-funded by the State and Commonwealth Governments as part of an agreement under the National Water Grid Connections Fund. The City of Albany is contributing $32,250 to the project.
Other grant recipients include the Shires of Brookton, Dumbleyung, Kulin, Narrogin, Perenjori, Trayning, Williams and Boyup Brook.
So far, the McGowan Government has spent more than $3.7 million on direct water carting to central locations to support emergency livestock needs, $2.2 million on the development and upgrade of 75 strategic community water supplies, and $1.5 million towards partnerships with 23 local governments to upgrade community water supplies.
The program is supported by the National Water Grid Connections funding project.
As stated by Water Minister Dave Kelly:
"This project is part of a range of measures from the McGowan Government to secure water supplies in the Great Southern.
"From larger projects such as the Albany to Denmark pipeline, announced in August, to smaller strategic projects like this, we are helping future-proof regional water supplies from the effects of climate change."
As stated by Albany MLA Rebecca Stephens:
"The Community Water Supplies Partnership Program is a great initiative from the McGowan Government that is helping rural communities harvest more of this precious resource and boost water security for regional towns.
"I'm really pleased to see funding for this innovative project, which will put to good use rainwater that would normally go to waste.
"It will provide a number of benefits to the community, while reducing dependence on the town's scheme water supply which was already under pressure."
