{{Short description|Supplier of water, wastewater and drainage services in Western Australia}} {{Use Australian English |date=February 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}} {{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 = {{official URL}}<!-- Use Wikidata --> |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, Western Australia|Bunbury]], [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]], [[Karratha, Western Australia|Karratha]], [[Geraldton]], [[Northam, Western Australia|Northam]] and [[Kalgoorlie]], Water Corporation's services, projects and activities span {{convert|2.6|e6km2|abbr=off}}.<ref name=":0" /> The organisation employs over 4000 people and manages an asset base over {{AUD|37{{nbsp}}billion|link=yes}} in water supply, wastewater, drainage infrastructure and bulk water for irrigation.{{when? |date=February 2025}}<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 Public Works Department of Western Australia.
=== Agency name history === {{div col |colwidth=30em}} *{{timeline-event |event=Metropolitan Water Works Board |date=1 October 1896 |end_date=1 April 1909 }}<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> *{{timeline-event |event=Metropolitan Board of Water Supply and Sewerage |date=1 April 1909 |end_date=1 January 1910 }} *{{timeline-event |event=Metropolitan Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Department |date=1 January 1910 |end_date=1 July 1964 }} *{{timeline-event |event=Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Department |date=1 January 1912 |end_date=1 January 1921 }} *{{timeline-event |event=Metropolitan Water Supply Sewerage and Drainage Board |date=1 July 1964 |end_date=1 July 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> *{{timeline-event |event=Metropolitan Water Authority |date=1 July 1982 |end_date=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> *{{timeline-event |event=Water Authority of Western Australia |date=1 July 1985 |end_date=1 January 1996 }}<ref name=eoas_WAMWA/><ref name=eoas_WAWA/> *{{timeline-event |event=Water Corporation |date=1 January 1996 }}<ref name=eoas_WAWA/> {{div col end}}
== Operations == === Irrigation === Water Corporation provides more than {{convert|5,234|ML|e9USgal|abbr=off}} 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 {{convert|1,420|km}} of rural main drains and more than {{convert|1,126|km}} of drains in the [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] metropolitan area. Local councils manage most of Perth's smaller reticulation drains. Corporation drainage services benefit {{convert|320,000|ha}} 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, {{age |October 2009}} years ago, Water Corporation released a 50-year plan that provides a portfolio of options to manage demand and supply balance by 2060.<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>
The Water Corporations most recent strategy is called {{update after |2035|12|31 |text=''Thrive2035'' and provides direction to manage water services sustainably through to 2035.}}
== References == {{reflist |30em}}
== External links == *{{official website}}<!-- Use Wikidata --> * [https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-water-and-environmental-regulation Department of Water and Environmental Regulation]
{{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]]