Construction has commenced on a major project to improve the reliability and sustainability of Halls Creek’s drinking water supply.
The $11.7 million initiative, jointly funded by the Albanese and Cook Governments, will expand the town’s borefield through the installation of four new production bores and approximately three kilometres of connecting pipeline.
Delivered by Water Corporation on Ngarrawanji Country in the East Kimberley region, the project is designed to provide a more reliable and climate-resilient groundwater source to meet peak demand, while supporting improved environmental outcomes through sustainable borefield management.
Halls Creek’s drinking water supply is sourced from groundwater aquifers that rely on rainfall recharge. However, the impacts of long-term climate change have resulted in declining and increasingly variable rainfall, reducing groundwater availability and the sustainable yield of several existing bores.
The project is expected to increase water supply by hundreds of kilolitres per day, strengthening water security, supporting essential services and improving liveability for the remote community and its local First Nations residents.
“Groundwater sources are increasingly vulnerable to variable rainfall, which means less water for communities. Expanding Halls Creek’s borefield not only improves the supply scheme’s reliability but also, importantly, its sustainability too,” said Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Murray Watt.
Construction is expected to be completed within 12 months.
