View source for Water Corporation (Western Australia)

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{{Infobox government agency
|agency_name     = Water Corporation
|logo            = Water_Corporation.svg
|logo_width      =
|logo_caption    =
|seal            =
|seal_width      =
|seal_captions    =
|formed          = 1 January 1996
|preceding1      = [[Water Authority of Western Australia]]
|dissolved       =
|superseding     =
|jurisdiction    = [[Government of Western Australia]]
|employees       =
|budget          =
|chief1_name     = Pat Donovan
|chief1_position = chief executive officer
|parent_agency   =
|child1_agency   =
|website         = [http://www.watercorporation.com.au/ www.WaterCorporation.com.au]
|footnotes       =
}}
'''Water Corporation''' is the principal supplier of water, [[wastewater]] and [[drainage]] services throughout the state of Western Australia.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.watercorporation.com.au/about-us/the-way-we-work|title=The Way We Work|last=|first=|date=21 November 2018|website=Water Corporation of WA|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=21 November 2018}}</ref> It is the seventh successive agency to deal with the services in [[Perth]], Western Australia.
With offices in Perth, Bunbury, Albany, Karratha, Geraldton, Northam and Kalgoorlie, Water Corporation's services, projects and activities span 2.6 million square kilometres.<ref name=":0" />
Water Corporation employs over 2,746 people and manages an asset base over $37 billion (AUD) in water supply, wastewater, drainage infrastructure and bulk water for irrigation.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.watercorporation.com.au/-/media/files/residential/about-us/our-performance/annual-report-2018/water%20corporation%202018%20annual%20report.pdf|title=Water Corporation Annual Report 2018|last=|first=|date=21 November 2018|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=21 November 2018}}</ref>
Water Corporation is owned by the [[Western Australian]] Government and is accountable to its sole shareholder, the [[Minister for Water (Western Australia)|Minister for Water]]. Most of Water Corporation's surplus is returned to the Government as a dividend to contribute to the development of the state, with the remainder invested in capital works.<ref name=":0" />
== Formation ==
Water Corporation was created in January 1996, in a restructure of the [[water industry]] in Western Australia.
The Water Authority in turn had been created in 1985 through a merger of the former Metropolitan Water Authority, which operated in Perth, the state capital, and the water and wastewater operations of the former WA Public Works Department.
=== Earlier agency names ===
*  Metropolitan Water Works Board<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.sro.wa.gov.au/index.php/metropolitan-water-works-board-au-wa-a105|title=AU WA A105- Metropolitan Water Works Board|publisher=State Records Office of WA|access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref> 1 October 1896       –       1 April 1909
*  Metropolitan Board of Water Supply and Sewerage	1 Apr 1909	–        1 January 1910
*  Metropolitan Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Department	1 Jan 1910 –    1 July 1964
*  Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Department	1 Jan 1912	 –       1 January 1921
*  Metropolitan Water Supply Sewerage and Drainage Board	1 Jul 1964  –	1 Jul 1982<ref name=eoas_WAMWA>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P006464b.htm|title=Western Australian Metropolitan Water Authority (1982 - 1985)|publisher=Swinburne University of Technology|encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation |access-date=2022-04-07}}</ref>
*  Metropolitan Water Authority 	                1 July 1982       –       1 July 1985<ref name=eoas_WAMWA/><ref name=eoas_WAWA>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P006465b.htm|title=Water Authority of Western Australia (1985 - 1996)|publisher=Swinburne University of Technology|encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation |access-date=2022-04-07}}</ref>
*  Water Authority of Western Australia                 1 July 1985    –    1 January 1996<ref name=eoas_WAMWA/><ref name=eoas_WAWA/>
*  Water Corporation 	                                1 January 1996  –<ref name=eoas_WAWA/>
== Operations ==
=== Irrigation ===
Water Corporation provides more than 5,234 megalitres per year of bulk water supplies to [[irrigation]] schemes operated by farmer cooperatives in the northwest (Ord Irrigation District), midwest (Gascoyne Irrigation District) and southwest (South West and Preston Valley Irrigation Districts).<ref name=":2" />
=== Drainage ===
Water Corporation manages main drainage systems in [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] and some regional areas to prevent flooding and optimise land usage while minimising impacts on property and protecting the natural environment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.watercorporation.com.au/water-supply/sewerage-and-drainage-services|title=Sewerage & drainage services|last=|first=|date=21 November 2018|website=Water Corporation of WA|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=21 November 2018}}</ref> These services involve about 1,420 kilometres of rural main drains and more than 1,126 kilometres of drains in the [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] metropolitan area. Local councils manage most of Perth's smaller reticulation drains. Corporation drainage services benefit 320,000 hectares of agricultural land in parts of the South West and [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]] on the south coast.<ref name=":2" />
== Planning for the future ==
To ensure water services for a state that is growing rapidly yet at the same time suffering reduced rainfall, Water Corporation plans well ahead on multiple fronts. It aims to reduce water use and increase [[Reclaimed water|wastewater recycling]] while developing new water sources with a strong focus on those that are independent of climate. At the same time, it aims to reduce environmental impact from its operations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.watercorporation.com.au/about-us/planning-for-the-future|title=Planning for the future|last=|first=|date=21 November 2018|website=Water Corporation of WA|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=21 November 2018}}</ref>
In October 2009, Water Corporation released its 50-year plan,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.watercorporation.com.au/-/media/files/about%20us/planning%20for%20the%20future/water-forever-50-year-plan.pdf | access-date=2023-11-07 | title=Water Forever | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214053708/http://www.watercorporation.com.au/-/media/files/about%20us/planning%20for%20the%20future/water-forever-50-year-plan.pdf | archive-date=2014-02-14}}</ref> Water Forever: Towards Climate Resilience, which provides a portfolio of options to manage demand and supply balance by 2060.
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-water-and-environmental-regulation Department of Water and Environmental Regulation]
* {{Official website|http://www.watercorporation.com.au/|Water Corporation official website}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Government-owned companies of Western Australia]]
[[Category:Water companies of Australia]]
[[Category:Water supply and sanitation in Western Australia]]
[[Category:Australian companies established in 1996]]