Protecting your drinking water sources

> Protecting your drinking waterThe Mundaring Weir Drinking Water Source Protection Plan recommended the establishment of a Reservoir Protection Zone (RPZ) to protect water quality. This brochure describes how the RPZ will be implemented and what it means to you.

The RPZ will help maintain and improve the quality of water from the Mundaring Weir Reservoir by prohibiting public access. This will ensure the government can meet the public need for safe, good quality drinking water now and in the future. Anyone entering this RPZ from May 2008 will be subject to by-laws under the Metropolitan Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Act 1909.

The Mundaring RPZ is one of the last to be established in the Perth Hills. It will be signposted to define its boundary and the Water Corporation (under delegation from the Department of Water) will be responsible for surveillance and enforcement as it is in other RPZs in WA.

Please make your friends aware of this new RPZ to help them comply with the by-laws and avoid fines in the future. Please note that if you have been informed that you should not be in the RPZ by a Water Corporation Ranger prior to May 2008 and you choose to ignore that advice, you will be exposing yourself to formal warnings or penalties.

Mundaring Weir Reservoir Protection Zone

Reservoir Protection Zones improve drinking water quality and help the state deliver safe, good quality drinking water.

Drinking Water CatchmentReservoir Protection Zone

PROHIBITED ZONENO UNAUTHORISED ENTRY

By-laws apply

in partnership with

Looking after all our water needs

G Printed on recycled paper

> Water Corporation

Head office629 Newcastle Street, Leederville, Western Australia 6007 Telephone: (08) 9420 2420

Faults, emergencies and security 24 hours 13 13 75 www.watercorporation.com.au

> Department of Water

Perth office:168 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia 6000 Telephone: (08) 6364 7600. Facsimile: (08) 6364 7601 Email: drinkingwater@water.wa.gov.au

Regional office (Swan-Avon):7 Ellam Street, Victoria Park, Western Australia 6100 Telephone: (08) 6250 8000. Facsimile: (08) 6250 8050 www.water.wa.gov.au

> Department of Health

Water Quality Branch Environmental Health Directorate PO Box 8172, Perth Business Centre, Western Australia 6849 Telephone: (08) 9388 4999. Facsimile: (08) 9388 4955 www.public.health.wa.gov.au

LINC DOW302904

Thank you

For helping us provide you with clean, safe drinking water

in partnership with

> The Mundaring Weir Catchment Area and Reservoir Protection Zone

> Mundaring Weir Drinking Water Source Protection PlanThe Mundaring Weir Drinking Water Source Protection Plan was finalised in May 2007. It identified contamination risks in the catchment area and recommended ways to minimise those risks.

> Contamination risksThe main water quality risks in the Mundaring Weir Reservoir Protection Zone (RPZ) include:

• disease-causing micro-organisms (bacteria, viruses and protozoa) from people and domestic animals

• turbidity (sediment) from public access for recreation• chemicals from cars and motorbikes and illegal waste

disposal.

To address these risks public access is not allowed in the Mundaring Weir RPZ. This is consistent with zones already established in other Perth Hills drinking water supply dams (e.g. Serpentine and Victoria).

Advertising, signage and enforcement for this RPZ will be completed by May 2008.

> How to obtain a copy of the Mundaring Weir Drinking Water Source Protection PlanIf you would like to view the Mundaring Weir Drinking Water Source Protection Plan, please visit www.water.wa.gov.au and select ‘Water management’, ‘Publications’, ‘Water Source Protection Plans and Assessments’ – then scroll down to find the Mundaring Weir Catchment Area Plan. If you are unable to access the Internet, please call the Department of Water and we will post a copy to you.

The Mundaring Weir supplies water for the Goldfields and Agricultural Supply System and Perth’s Integrated Water Supply System. The reservoir supplies approximately 90 million litres of drinking water a day to over 50 country towns from Buntine (240 km north-east of Perth) to Kalgoorlie (600 km east of Perth) to Norseman (726 km south-east of Perth) and some of the Perth metropolitan area.

To protect the water quality of this important drinking water source, by-laws that prohibit public access to the area bounded by the dashed red line will be fully enforced by May 2008.

Restricting public access is consistent with major permanent drinking water supply storages across Australia.

Recreational areas you can still access include:

• Bibbulmun Track and its approved campsites• Kep Track• Munda Biddi mountain bike trail• Mundaring precinct long walk trail• Powerline and Wandoo recreational vehicle tracks• Mundaring Weir wall walkway