The Western Australian Government has announced a range of regulatory support changes for the sustainable use of water by the mining industry.

State Water Minister, Terry Redman, said that the changes come at a crucial time for the resources sector.

“Mining is one of the largest water using sectors in the State requiring water for activities such as extraction, processing, dust suppression, construction and camp consumption,” Mr Redman said.

“Ongoing liaison with the mining industry showed that helping this group comply with regulatory requirements around increasingly complex water use should be a priority focus.  

“In response, the Government has delivered a number of improvements to assist the industry with its water licensing, regulation and compliance requirements.”

The Minister said the new Western Australian Water in Mining Guideline was a ‘one-stop shop’ for navigating regulatory requirements for managing water over the life of a mining operation.

The Government also created a new policy to manage requests for the third party use of surplus water produced by mine dewatering.

“The industry and communities in which they operate wanted guidance on how they might better use more than 300 billion litres of dewatering discharge a year,” Mr Redman said.