I am pleased to announce that the Porters Creek Wetland Stormwater Harvesting project on the Central Coast of New South Wales is the eighth New South Wales project to receive funding from the Australian Government's Water Smart Australia Programme. Wyong's population is expected to increase by 40 000 by 2025. Australian Government funding of $2.6 million toward a $16 million investment will help protect a significant wetland area in NSW from stormwater that will flow from urban development in the catchment.
This innovative water project is the second major water project on the Central Coast to receive funding from the Water Smart Australia Programme. In March of this year the Australian Government announced funding of $6.61 million from the Australian Government Water Fund towards the $37.76 million construction of a pipeline to enable water transfers between the Gosford-Wyong and Hunter regions, making better use of these water resources. Funding for major water conservation projects on the Central Coast demonstrates the Australian Government's commitment to improve the management of water resources across the country, particularly in areas where water scarcity is a major factor affecting the development and sustainability of the region.
To date the Australian Government has supported 33 major water projects with more than $418 million from the Water Smart Australia Programme for total investments of more than $1.136 billion. The Central Coast's population is expanding rapidly and the region is facing significant water scarcity issues. The region's challenge is to manage the impact of urban development on the local environment and the region's water supply.
The Porters Creek Wetland Stormwater Harvesting project will enable stormwater to be collected, treated and reused to maintain the natural cycles of the Porters Creek Wetland. The Porters Creek Wetland is widely recognised for its diversity of habitats and its contribution to the environmental flows of the Wyong River.
The project also has the potential to provide a cost effective solution to securing the region's water supply. The establishment of a return flow credit scheme, if approved by the NSW Government, will effectively utilise these investments in Wyong's infrastructure to treat stormwater supplement environmental flows and enable more water to be extracted for the drinking water supply from the Wyong River .
If Wyong's application is approved, the Central Coast will become the first region to treat and reuse stormwater for environmental flows in NSW and may become the first region to credit stormwater which will allow additional extractions of up to 5.4 gigalitres from the Wyong River for the region's drinking water supply.
I congratulate the Wyong Shire Council for its commitment to finding innovative water solutions to major water management challenges. Further information on these projects and the Water Smart Australia Programme is available from the National Water Commission website at http://www.nwc.gov.au/water_fund/index.cfm.