A $28 million Territory Government investment will help to shore up water security in Aboriginal communities across the NT.
Tailored projects in ten remote communities will improve water quality and supply infrastructure, prioritising areas of critical need.
The funding, $7 million per year for four years, will support initiatives to manage immediate problems and a long-term plan to tackle complex water supply issues. These include new bores, network upgrades, improved water disinfection systems, and the installation of meters to monitor and reduce water usage.
The identified projects, tailored to address community-specific issues, will begin in Laramba, Engawala, Yuendumu, Epenarra, Imanpa, Atitjere, Warruwi and Numbulwar in the first year of the program; with works in Angurugu and Beswick to follow.
Projects include:
- drilling and equipping of new bores to increase availability of water in seven communities;
- improvements to drinking water quality at Laramba, with an initial pilot trial of a water treatment plant to be followed by development of new water supply infrastructure;
- reducing the risk of water borne disease through improvements to reliability of drinking water treatment systems in various communities;
- upgrading the Warruwi water supply system to overcome water shortages, location of additional water resources, a bore drilling program and water supply infrastructure upgrade;
- upgrading water supply infrastructure at Yuendumu with current options including a new water treatment plant; and
- installation of water metres in eight communities to identify water leakage losses.
Further reviews of water quality in high-risk communities will help to determine priority projects in additional communities.
Source: NT Government