Government of Western Australia Department of Water Marble Bar Water Reserve Drinking water source protection plan Marble Bar town water supply Looking after all our water needs Water resource protection series Report WRP 115 June 2010 Marble Bar Water Reserve drinking water source protection plan Marble Bar town water supply Looking after all our water needs Department of Water Water resource protection series WRP Report no. 115 June 2010 Department of Water 168 St Georges Terrace Perth Western Australia 6000 Telephone +61 8 6364 7600 Facsimile +61 8 6364 7601 www.water.wa.gov.au © Government of Western Australia 2010 June 2010 This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non- commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Department of Water. ISSN 1326-7442 (print) ISSN 1835-3924 (online) ISBN 978-1-921736-56-8 (print) ISBN 978-1-921736-57-5 (online) Disclaimer This document has been published by the Department of Water. Any representation, statement, opinion or advice expressed or implied in this publication is made in good faith and on the basis that the Department of Water and its employees are not liable for any damage or loss whatsoever which may occur as a result of action taken or not taken, as the case may be in respect of any representation, statement, opinion or advice referred to herein. Professional advice should be obtained before applying the information contained in this document to particular circumstances. Acknowledgements The Department of Water would like to thank the following for their contribution to this publication: Jon Kaub, Alana Thorpe, Natalie Leach, Kevin Hopkinson, Carl Dyde, Cale Ambrosini, Stephen Watson and Nigel Mantle (Department of Water) and Brett Jago (Water Corporation). For more information about this report, contact the Water Source Protection Branch on +61 6364 7600 or [email protected]. Cover photograph: Aerial photograph of Marble Bar townsite and surrounds Water resource protection series report no. 115 Marble Bar Water Reserve drinking water source protection plan Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................ v Summary ................................................................................................................... vii 1 Drinking water source overview ............................................................................ 1 1.1 Existing water supply system ......................................................................................... 1 1.2 Water treatment ............................................................................................................. 1 1.3 Catchment details .......................................................................................................... 1 1.3.1 Physiography ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.3.2 Climate ................................................................................................................................. 2 1.3.3 Hydrogeology ....................................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Future water supply requirements ................................................................................. 2 1.5 Existing drinking water source protection ...................................................................... 2 1.6 Department of Water management ................................................................................ 3 1.6.1 Pilbara regional water plan................................................................................................... 3 1.6.2 Current allocation licence ..................................................................................................... 3 2 Water quality monitoring and contamination risks ................................................. 4 2.1 Microbiological ............................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Health related ................................................................................................................ 5 2.3 Aesthetic ........................................................................................................................ 6 2.4 Groundwater bores ........................................................................................................ 6 3 Land-use assessment ........................................................................................... 7 3.1 Existing land uses and activities .................................................................................... 7 3.1.1 Crown land leases ............................................................................................................... 7 3.1.2 Bore operation and maintenance ......................................................................................... 8 3.1.4 Aboriginal sites of significance ............................................................................................. 8 3.1.5 Native title ............................................................................................................................ 9 3.1.6 Recreation ............................................................................................................................ 9 3.1.8 Other forms of Crown land ................................................................................................... 9 3.2 Proposed land uses and activities ................................................................................. 9 4 Catchment protection strategy ............................................................................ 13 4.1 Protection objectives .................................................................................................... 13 4.2 Proclaimed area........................................................................................................... 13 4.3 Priority areas ............................................................................................................... 13 4.4 Protection zones .......................................................................................................... 14 4.5 Land-use planning ....................................................................................................... 16 4.6 Best management practices ........................................................................................ 16 4.7 Surveillance and by-law enforcement .......................................................................... 17 4.8 Emergency response ................................................................................................... 17 4.9 Implementation of this plan .......................................................................................... 17 5 Recommendations .............................................................................................. 18 Appendices ................................................................................................................ 20 List of shortened forms .............................................................................................. 33 Glossary .................................................................................................................... 35 Department of Water iii Marble Bar Water Reserve drinking water source protection plan Water resource protection series report no. 115 References ................................................................................................................ 39 Appendices Appendix A Figures .................................................................................................. 20 Appendix B Water quality data ................................................................................. 24 Appendix C Land use, potential water quality risks and recommended protection strategies ............................................................................................................. 27 Appendix D Photographs .......................................................................................... 31 Figures Figure 1 Location of Marble Bar Water Reserve ........................................................ 20 Figure 2 Existing and proposed Marble Bar Water Reserve boundaries ................... 21 Figure 3 Land use activities and tenures in the proposed Marble Bar Water Reserve22 Figure 4 Proposed boundary, priority areas and protection zones for the Marble Bar Water Reserve .......................................................................................... 23 Tables Table 1 Land use and potential water quality risks ................................................ 11 iv Department of Water Water resource protection series report no. 115 Marble Bar Water Reserve drinking water source protection plan Preface How do we protect public drinking water source areas? The Australian drinking water guidelines (ADWG) (NHMRC & NRMMC 2004a) outlines how we should protect drinking water in Australia. The ADWG recommends a ‘catchment to consumer’ framework that uses a risk-based, multiple-barrier approach. A similar