- Floating dam covers installed in Ravensthorpe, Salmon Gums and Lake King
- Evaporation halved during recent trial by university researchers
- Supports drinking water security in the face of declining rainfall
- $2.8 million project jointly funded by State and Commonwealth Governments
Innovative floating covers that reduce evaporation by more than 70 per cent have been installed at three dams in southern agricultural areas, in a further effort to secure drinking water supplies impacted by climate change.
The $2.8 million Water Corporation project saw hundreds of thousands of modular, hexagonal discs – known as a HexaCover – installed on dams in Ravensthorpe, Salmon Gums and Lake King.
Annual rainfall across the region has declined by around 20 per cent since the 1970s, with seasonal water carting needed in each community to secure drinking water in the face of increasingly unreliable rainfall.
Made from 100 per cent recycled plastic, the covers were shown to reduce evaporation by 73 per cent – saving more than 1.6 million litres of drinking water – during a recent trial involving University of Western Australia researchers at Wellstead, 90km east of Albany.
Their effectiveness will be further studied during an extended 19-month trial at Ravensthorpe, Salmon Gums and Lake King.
The covers were installed by majority Aboriginal-owned construction company, Benang, and will reduce the need for water carting while also helping protect water quality.
The project was delivered by Water Corporation and jointly funded by the Federal and WA Governments as part of the $43.8 million Western Australia Connections package. Australian Government funding is provided through the National Water Grid Fund (NWGF).
The NWGF aims to improve water access and security by delivering nationally important water infrastructure projects that unlock potential, build resilience, and promote community growth and sustainability.
The WA Government, through Water Corporation, has allocated more than $290 million for new drinking water and wastewater projects in regional WA in FY 2023-24, including $43.4million for projects in the Great Southern.
Quotes As put by Senator for WA Glenn Sterle:
“We’re working to deliver secure and reliable water to communities right across Western Australia.
“Projects like this that use innovative covers to minimise water evaporation mean we are protecting what is one of our most valuable and precious resources.
“This is providing Western Australia with resilience as we face a dry and changing climate.”
Comments attributed to WA Water Minister Simone McGurk:
“Securing drinking water supplies is fundamental to the growth and development of climate-resilient communities across WA.
“Nowhere is need greater than in southern agricultural areas, where the impacts of climate change are more pronounced than anywhere in Australia.
“This project, funded jointly by the State and Commonwealth Governments, will significantly reduce evaporation and yield more drinking water from rainfall.
“Alone, this project will not eliminate the need for water carting, nor is it the only answer to the supply challenges in the region. However, it is one of a suite of measures this Government is taking to ensure communities have secure, sustainable drinking water well into the future.”
As stated by Member for Agricultural Region Shelley Payne:
“These covers have been shown to dramatically reduce evaporation rates during trial use here in WA, and I look forward to seeing what impact they make at Ravensthorpe, Salmon Gums and Lake King.
“Rainfall is increasingly unreliable in the region, so it’s fantastic to see innovative solutions being put into action that help protect valuable drinking water sources in the community.”
