Additional actions to protect long-term water security for Eyre Peninsula - April 2024

The Eyre Peninsula Landscape Board has indicated there will be a significant reduction in the licensed volume of water we can source from Uley South Basin once amendments to the Water Allocation Plan for the Southern Basins take affect from 1 July 2026 – see the Board’s media release. Uley South currently supplies the majority of water to the Eyre Peninsula.

In response to this advice, we are undertaking an urgent review of our broader water security response plan for the region, detailing what actions may need to be taken if there are changes to our ability to supply water from local groundwater sources or if there are significant delays to the delivery timeframe of our proposed desalination plant. These actions aim to maintain a level of water supply to the region while also protecting vital groundwater sources until a desalination plant is operating.

This plan will include working with the local community and stakeholders on a water efficiency program, as well as serious consideration to introducing staged water restrictions for primary production, industrial, businesses and residential customers.

This work will in happen in parallel with our continued plans to construct a desalination plant at Billy Lights Point, which we are working towards being operational by mid-2026. A climate-independent desalination plant remains critical to augment supply from an under stress Uley South Basin and deliver a long-term drinking water solution.

The Board’s review is prompted by findings from investigations and modelling by the Department for Environment and Water, which show if water extraction from Uley South continues at current rates, there is an increasing risk of further environmental decline and irreversible damage from saltwater intrusion.

We expect to complete a review of our water security response plan with the Eyre Peninsula community in coming weeks.