9/9/24: EXCLUSIVE: Discovery of worms in Fitzroy Valley tap water brings sharp focus to ongoing crisis – Giovanne Torre
The discovery of worms in tap water in a Kimberley Aboriginal community has brought sharp focus on the provision of water infrastructure and services in the region, revealing very little of a $350 million fund has been spent on upgrades since it was allocated in 2023.
The Western Australian Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage told National Indigenous Times it was made aware of “issues with the water tank in Fitzroy Valley” on August 20 and collaborated with other authorities to undertake immediate action.
“A local contractor was mobilised that day to drain and clean the tank, and treat the water. Residents were advised when works were complete and the water supply had been restored.The Department will now commission a full tank clean by a qualified contractor,” a department spokesperson said.
However, local community leaders and other residents say the incident is indicative of a broader – and long-running – problem with water in the Valley.
Patrick Green, a board member of Aboriginal resource centre Marra Worra Worra, told National Indigenous Times people in the Valley were dealing with “third world” conditions.
“We are still in a third world country – we have water sources that are substandard, we have worms in it, we have coffee-coloured water coming out in communities,” he said.
“It has been brought before various committees. I think there’s an allocation of more than $300 million to fix all this stuff but the departments that are responsible for it don’t know what to do.
“There are contractors out there that can fix the problem, that know the problem and have known about the problem for years but the government and their departments are dragging their feet because they think they know better. All they need to do is authorise the people who know how to fix all these problems to do their job.”
A WA government spokesperson told National Indigenous Times the government understood the worms in the tap water to be an “isolated case”, and noted “everyone has the right to safe and reliable water services”.
“Following the 2018 decision of the previous Liberal-National Coalition federal government to withdraw funding for remote communities, the State has stepped up to boost support for these communities,” she said.
“The Cook government is committed to helping Aboriginal communities across the Kimberley and WA receive drinking water of the highest quality, and we are working with communities across the state to effect long term change that improves the health and wellbeing of residents.”
In 2023 the WA government announced the $350 million Remote Communities Fund to upgrade essential services including water and power and undertake “high priority refurbishments and upgrades” of houses in remote and town-based Aboriginal communities.
There are about 130 Aboriginal communities across Western Australia left with responsibility for their own water services and infrastructure; usually smaller communities with an independent water supply.
After the devastating floods in the Kimberley region in January 2023, the WA government provided funding to repair damaged infrastructure and restore water supply to four impacted communities in the Fitzroy Valley as part of the Kimberley Flood Recovery Program – Burawa, Darlngunaya, Bungardi and Loanbun. These four communities are on Aboriginal Lands Trust land and responsible for their own water services. The works included installing new power systems and ultraviolet treatment plants at a total cost of $2 million.
National Indigenous Times investigated how – and to what extent – the $350 million Remote Communities Fund has been spent.
A Water Corporation spokesperson told National Indigenous Times that in July 2023, Water Corporation and Horizon Power assumed responsibility for water and power services in a combined 141 Aboriginal communities previously managed by the WA Department of Communities.
“To support the transition, the WA government allocated an initial $200 million from its $350 million Remote Communities Fund (RCF) to Water Corporation and Horizon Power for upgrades to power and water infrastructure and improvements to water quality. Of this, Water Corporation will receive $128.8 million over four years for its Aboriginal Communities Water Services program,” she said.
“To date, work under this program has included investigation, planning and prioritisation work, with a focus on engaging with communities, assessing existing water infrastructure and enhancing water quality monitoring. This is a crucial early step that will help better understand community water requirements and identify priority upgrades.”
The Water Corp spokesperson said capital upgrades being prioritised are those that will improve supply reliability and safeguard water quality, such as bore sealing, catchment protection and water treatment, noting that funding will help maintain existing assets and enhance water testing processes, with this work “delivered by local Aboriginal-owned service providers”.
“In the 12 months since ACWS was introduced, Water Corporation has engaged with close to 50 individual communities and completed asset assessments in more than 30 communities,” she said.
“Staged over an initial 10 years and underpinned by a collaborative, engagement-led approach, ACWS will ensure transferred communities have access to reliable drinking water that meets Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, and wastewater services that meet or exceed relevant standards under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, where applicable.”
Horizon Power’s Executive General Manager, Remote Communities, Krystal Skinner, told National Indigenous Times that since the WA government allocated an initial $200 million from its $350 million Remote Communities Fund to Horizon Power and the Water Corporation respectively for upgrades to power and water infrastructure, and improvements to water quality, Horizon Power has received an additional $68 million to support improvements to the reliability of critical power infrastructure.
“As a priority, Horizon Power has undertaken safety, inspectorate and asset remediation work. This includes upgrading or replacing overhead transformers, fuel storage tanks, feeders, waste oil tanks and engines, and safety improvements to electrical wiring,” she said.
“This significant investment demonstrates the State government’s commitment to improving power services in these communities.”
A WA Department of Communities spokesperson told National Indigenous Times funding and construction of new housing and provision of essential services in remote Aboriginal communities was previously a shared responsibility between State and Commonwealth governments, with a significant funding contribution from the Commonwealth which was withdrawn by the Morrison government in 2018.
The spokesperson said that a total of $150 million from the Remote Communities Fund was directed to the Department of Communities for municipal works, to improve housing supply and to undertake maintenance and refurbishments to housing in remote and town-based Aboriginal communities.
“This investment is driving progress towards the socioeconomic outcomes and priority reforms in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, particularly those related to health, wellbeing, economic participation, and appropriate housing for Aboriginal people,” he said.
Mr Green said the state government is well aware of the water problems in the Kimberley and must take action.
“There have been local contractors out there that have done reports on behalf of the departments, telling them what the problems are and they are still not listening to them,” he told National Indigenous Times.
“They need to realise it’s a quality of life issue for people, and with them dragging their processes, it is taking away our quality of life.”