Aboriginal Communities Water Services 

Everyone has the right to safe and reliable water services, which are critical for long-term individual, family, and community wellbeing.

Currently, water and wastewater services in 141 Aboriginal communities are not the same standard as those in similar-sized communities across WA.
That’s why the State Government is improving the management of essential water and power services, including transferring responsibility for water services in 141 Aboriginal communities to Water Corporation.

As the state’s largest water utility, we are best equipped to manage the water services and deliver the required upgrades. To achieve this, we will work with each community to understand and implement repairs, upgrades and solutions defined by the community.

While we visit and hear from communities, nothing will change for community residents on a day-to-day basis. Water services on the ground will remain the same, with each local and predominately Aboriginal-owned local regional service provider continuing to service and visit each community to maintain water services and infrastructure.

The only change will be that administration with regional service providers will be through Water Corporation, instead of Department of Communities.

Changes customers will experience will depend upon their existing water service situations and the level of upgrades and changes carried out.

However, community residents can expect to experience some of the following:  

• more reliable water;
• better water aesthetics (colour, smell, taste);
• higher quality of water;
• more visibility over water usage and costs;
• improved community amenities;
• water efficiency education; and/or
• more equitable billing structures.

We will seek to collaborate on and co-design upgrades where possible, meaning we will be informed and guided by the community on most aspects of work, including timing. 

There will be a number of other contributing factors relating to the timing of upgrades, including:

• what upgrades are required; 
• criticality of upgrades; 
• heritage and native title arrangements;
• community governance;
• regulatory approvals;
• environmental factors; and 
• funding.

We will work with community residents and relevant representative organisations to foster sustainable relationships grounded in mutual respect. The community will lead decisions around projects to ensure, where possible, service changes and socio-economic outcomes are defined by the community. We are committed to assisting in creating an environment where self-determination can thrive.

Our dedicated Aboriginal Community Engagement team will lead the engagement with all directly involved communities and representatives. We will also have Aboriginal Stakeholder Relationship Managers who will work closely with all relevant organisations.

As well as our engagement and stakeholder specialists, we have subject matter experts in water quality, water sourcing, engineering, environment, heritage and native title, water efficiency, billing, safety, and many other areas who will work closely with communities, as required.

How we engage with communities will be determined by the communities themselves. In the past, this has predominantly been through face-to-face meetings. However, we can use other channels if preferred. If you want to know more about how we will engage with communities and relevant organisations, please email ACWS@watercorporation.com.au. 

If you have general water concerns about your community and how these will be addressed by the program, please get in touch with us at ACWS@watercorporation.com.au.

If you have water concerns about your community that require immediate action, please get in touch with your regional service provider.

Transferring refers to Water Corporation taking over responsibility for the management of water services in the 141 communities from the Department of Communities. This includes management of the existing regional service provider arrangements, as well as supporting their delivery of water and wastewater services to the communities. 
It means we are accountable for both the water and wastewater services in all 141 communities and the regional service providers who operate and maintain them. Under our management, there will be higher levels of monitoring, management and reporting to meet Australian standards.

Upgrading refers to our commitment to ensure water services in the 141 communities are of the same standard as similar-sized communities across WA.  
This work will depend upon each community’s unique water situation. Some communities may require major upgrades, such as a water treatment plant or new water source, whilst other communities may only require new tap fittings. Others may not require any upgrade work at all.

The communities being transferred to us are those that previously received water services through the Department of Communities’ Remote Essential and Municipal Services (REMS) program.

The communities are located throughout the state, including 101 communities in the Kimberley region (North-West), 26 communities in the Pilbara region (North-West and Mid-West) and 14 communities in the Goldfields regions (Goldfields-Agricultural).

If you would like to know whether a particular community is being upgraded, please email us via ACWS@watercorporation.com.au. 

The program will follow a three-staged implementation approach, guided by the following principles:

• Implement in collaboration with regulators and with a clear pathway to agreed service standards over time;
• Take a community-led approach that recognises differences so that the model is adaptable, flexible and avoids a one-size fits-all approach;
• Deliver early pragmatic wins and allow greater opportunity to evolve over time.

The three-staged approach:

Stage 1: Transfer 1 July 2023 – Water Corporation and Horizon Power take on responsibility for the management and delivery of essential services to 141 Aboriginal communities.

Stage 2: Optimisation over the first 3 years – A whole of government approach is implemented to enable the development of a community-led, outcomes focused services delivery model. This will include a sustainable strategic asset management plan and pathway towards regularisation and regulatory compliance.

Stage 3: Regularisation over the next 10 years – Deliver safe, efficient and reliable essential services to improve liveability of Aboriginal communities, enable better health and environmental outcomes, and contribute towards long-term community sustainability and economic growth.

Detailed planning, preparation, and consultation for the transfer proposal commenced in 2021. The transfer of water services management to communities took place on 1 July 2023. 
We plan to work with each community over the next 10 years, with upgrades happening in a staged approach. Communities with critical water service concerns, such as operational safety, water quality, and water reliability will be prioritised for upgrades.

In preparation for the transfer and upgrades, we have already engaged with a number of communities. This engagement has included conducting site visits to better understand the condition of water assets and providing information to communities about the program.

Water Corporation has also been working with the Department of Communities on the Essential and Municipal Services Upgrades Program (EMSUP), which now falls under the Aboriginal Communities Water Services program, to upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure and services in seven Aboriginal communities. EMSUP is due for completion by 2026. 

The communities being upgraded were previously managed by the Department of Communities under their Remote Essential and Municipal Services project and Essential Municipal Services Upgrade Program. 

For the time being, the Aboriginal communities that were not part of these programs have not been transferred to Water Corporation and will continue to be self-managed. We understand some of these communities may have concerns about their water services and experiences, so we encourage these communities to get in touch with us. 

Major water service upgrades may include unavoidable localised impacts on the environment. We will undertake baseline environmental assessments to better understand the current state of the environment and how we can minimise impacts through any work we carry out.

Environmental considerations will be factored into the design and location of upgrades and infrastructure, and we will plan for upgrades to have no additional long-term negative impact on the environment. 

We anticipate that minor water service upgrades will not significantly impact the environment. Community approval will be sought before we undertake any environmental assessments.

We understand that heritage, native title and all land governance and ownership will be different for each community. 

We are committed to ensuring all Aboriginal cultural heritage issues and Native Title rights are managed in a culturally appropriate and sensitive manner. We will ensure the impacts our activities may have on cultural heritage and Native Title are fully identified, understood and, wherever possible, avoided as part of planning and operations.

We have a dedicated Heritage and Native Title team who will support the ACWS program throughout all phases of engagement, planning and work, as required. If you want to know more about how Heritage and Native Title matters will be managed, please email ACWS@watercorporation.com.au.  

Water that is unsafe to drink can have negative health impacts. Unsafe water may have been exposed to:

• animal or human waste;
• animal remains (carcasses);
• oil and fuel; 
• pesticides and herbicides; or
• naturally occurring metals or radioactive materials found in the ground.

When water quality is not meeting Australian health standards, we will endeavour to rectify this as soon as possible. If this cannot occur, we will be in touch with the community explaining what community members need to do to ensure the water they drink is safe.

The water treatment work required within each community will determine whether there are any changes to the taste and appearance of water.

Upgrades such as improved source protection, and new pipes and tanks, will not change the taste or appearance of the water. Treatments such as filtration may change the taste of the water as salts will be removed at the same time as the harmful pollutants. Adding chlorine may change the taste of water. However, the level of chlorine added is safe to consume and will ensure harmful microorganisms are removed.

Each community in the ACWS program is currently billed differently. We will work with each community to understand their unique billing arrangements and how billing and accounts will be best structured into the future.

If you want to know more about how billing will be managed, please email ACWS@watercorporation.com.au.

Regional service providers are the pre-existing and current organisations undertaking the operational and day-to-day management of the water services in communities. The regional service providers were previously administered by the Department of Communities and are now administered by Water Corporation.

Regional service providers are the preferred on-the-ground operators. They are local and predominantly Aboriginal-owned businesses with a thorough understanding of the infrastructure, service, communities, governance and customers they are servicing.