State Planning Policy 2.9 - Water Resources.

The objectives of this policy are to: 1. protect, conserve and enhance water resources that are identified as having significant economic, social, cultural and/or environmental values; 2. assist in ensuring the availability of suitable water resources to maintain essential requirements for human and all other biological life with attention to maintaining or improving the quality and quantity of water resources; and 3. promote and assist in the management and sustainable use of water resources. Planning should contribute to the protection and wise management of water resources by ensuring local and regional planning strategies, structure plans, schemes, subdivisions, strata subdivision and development applications adopt the general measures below (pag. 5713). The Water and Rivers Commission, through its Water WA—A State of Water Resources Report for Western Australia (2002), identified the issues of major concern to be: sustainable use of water resources; stream salinization; nutrient enrichment of water resources; loss of riparian vegetation; erosion and sedimentation of waterways; and contamination of water resources (pag. 5711).
The purpose of this policy is to inform the WAPC, the Department for Planning and Infrastructure (DPI) and local government in the undertaking of their planning responsibilities, and in integrating and coordinating the activities of state agencies that influence the use and development of land as it relates to water resources. In particular, the policy will guide local governments and the State Administrative Tribunal regarding those aspects of state planning policy concerning the protection of water resources that should be taken into account in planning decision making (pag. 5712). Key principles of total water cycle management and integrated urban water management are: 1. Consideration of all water sources (including wastewater) in water planning, maximising the value of water resources; 2. Integration of water and land use planning; 3. The sustainable and equitable use of all water sources, having consideration of the needs of all water users including the community, industry and the environment; 4. Integration of water use and natural water processes; and 5. A whole of catchment integration of natural resource use and management (pag. 5723).
General Measures to be taken are: Protect significant environmental, recreational and cultural values of water resources; Aim to prevent or, where appropriate, improve any potential impacts; Promote environmental repair and rehabilitation of the water resource; Improve water quality; Reduce in nutrient export to receiving waters to a level lower than existing; Restore natural flow regimes and variability; and use of site works such as fencing, revegetation or water monitoring; Recognize the hydrological importance of groundwater and surface catchments with regards to water management and the associated value of catchment planning on a regional, district and local scale; Protect, manage, conserve and enhance surface and groundwater catchments and recharge areas supporting significant ecological features, etc. (pag. 5713).