Meeting Growing Demand for Water Services
The IWSS water grid supplies water to meet consumer demand. As water demand grows, so must our water source capacity to meet that demand.
The amount that the IWSS water grid can supply varies every year. Water available from dams is directly impacted by rainfall. The amount of water available from groundwater can also vary somewhat from year to year, although most groundwater reserves are large and can withstand some fluctuation in annual rainfall.
Due to significant investment over the past five years in recycling and desalination, the IWSS water grid is becoming less dependent on rainfall and more resilient in periods of droughtt.
Based on the population projections from the Western Australian Planning Commission, we have estimated that there will be total demand for water from the IWSS water grid of 320 gigalitres by 2020. Based on CSIRO rainfall projections, we estimate that there will be a small gap between demand and system yield of 5 gigalitres at that time.
New water solutions will be required prior to 2020 to meet this demand and increasing future demand for water, as the population grows. That may include significant investment in a single source, or a range of smaller sources and water efficiency.
The gap between supply and demand will continue to grow due to increasing demand and expected reductions in rainfall. By 2060, there is a possible gap of 255 gigalitres between water available in the system and demand, without further investment.
Planning ahead now helps us to make wise choices and keep options open for the future.
