TA~ KAJ A
PRIME MINISTER
FOR MEDIA MONDAY, 31 JANUARY 1983
WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENTS SOUTH AUSTRALIA
South Australia stands to benefit substantially from the
$ 640 m. Bicentennial water resources programme announced
last Tuesday. The Government is acutely aware of South
Australia's dependence on the Murray and deeply
concerned about the effects of high salinity levels in
South Australia.
The Bicentennial Programme will be particularly
important in helping to give South Australia better
quality Murray water.
Subject to discussion with the States, the Commonwealth
will provide funding to raise the level of the existing
weir at Euston to increase storage capacity and improve
the regulation of water release from the Hume and
Dartmouth dams. We will also increase the storage
capacity of the Menindee Lakes.
These measures will have a very positive effect on
maintaining a sufficient flow of water down the Murray
to South Australia and at the same time they will
improve the quality of Murray water in South Australia.
The Commonwealth will also provide further assistance
for the Adelaide and northern towns filtration schemes.
Building on the $ 15 m. already spent by the
Commcnwealth, this further assistance will increase
substantially the number of pe-ople receiving better
quality River Murray water for domestic purposes.
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In addition, the extended National Water Resources
Program will include the completion of flood mitigation
works on the Torrens river providing protection from
floods for about 5,000 homes and 500 commercial
buildings. These measures are additional to the special grant of
million for upgrading water supplies which South
Australia received in the 19S2/ 83 Budget.
The Bicentennial program also includes feasability
studies of a number of far sighted and imaginative water
developncnts. Of particular importance to South
Australia, is the comprehensive engineering,-economic
and environmental study of a new upper Murray dam. Such
a dam would augment water supplies in the River Murray
system, greatly to the benefit of South Australia.
It is worth noting that if it hadn't been for the
construction of the Dartmouth Dam many South Australians
dependent on the Murray System would be enduring severe
water restrictions today.
Adequate quantities of water of sufficiently high
quality is vital to the future development of South
Australia. The Bicentennial Programme will help
substantially improve both quantity and quality and
thereby provie greater long term development
opportunities for the State. oo000ooo---
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