Battle over water from Fitzroy hits city after environmentalists and Indigenous groups ramp up campaign

The battle for the future of the Fitzroy River is boiling over, with environmentalists and Indigenous groups vying for metropolitan area support to stop water from the river being used for agriculture. Advertising has been plastered across some Perth buses, warning the Fitzroy could become the next Murray-Darling disaster. The buses will cruise the CBD and the eastern and western suburbs until the end of the month to coincide with the end of the State Government’s public consultation period over a water management plan for the Fitzroy in the Kimberley. The Pastoralists and Graziers Association has vowed to mount its own city-focused campaign, promoting the use of a small amount of water to develop agriculture in the region. The Government’s paper put forward two options for a water management plan. The first would allow for groundwater extraction, capped at 108.5 gigalitres a year with restrictions on pumping from the alluvial and Devonian Reef aquifers. A second option enables a groundwater limit of 108.5GL each year, and surface water extraction at 300GL, released in stages, with 90GL held in an Aboriginal water reserve. ProtectTheFitzroy campaign co-ordinator Monique Barker said opening the river to large-scale irrigation proposals could mean the difference between a healthy river supporting livelihoods, culture, and endangered species or a Murray-Darling style disaster. “The Fitzroy River is too precious to lose,” she said. “It is WA’s longest-listed Aboriginal heritage site and is the last stronghold to the critically endangered freshwater sawfish, both of which are not mentioned in the paper.” Pastoralists and Graziers Association president Tony Seabrook said the proposal to use a maximum of 408GL a year was a just a “drop in the bucket.” Mr Seabrook said this year, which marked a particularly strong wet season in the Kimberley, the equivalent of 15 Sydney Harbours of water had flowed down the Fitzroy into the ocean. Even in an average year there was about half that amount — or 7000GL — of water wasted. Mr Seabrook said the water could be used to underpin large-scale development in the region, creating jobs and prosperity. He said the PGA was sourcing funding to conduct its own campaign. It had last year written to hundreds of politicians promoting its “grow our north ” campaign. “It’s very concerning that metropolitan Perth’s chardonnay and latte-drinking set are pushing to stop this development, without considering the potential of the region,” he said. A 2018 CSIRO report stated 1700GL of surface water could be conservatively taken from the Fitzroy River annually. The report said investing in dams and other water infrastructure could unlock 160,000ha of agricultural land, delivering more than 5000 jobs and creating a $1.2 billion-a-year food hub.