Public drinking water source areas provide drinking water to cities and towns across Western Australia. They include the catchments of surface water sources (dams, reservoirs) and the recharge areas of groundwater sources (bores). Careful management of these sources helps ensure the supply of safe, reliable and affordable drinking water. There are more than 140 across Western Australia.
The department prepares a drinking water source protection report for each public drinking water source area. This follows the Australian drinking water guidelines, the national best-practice for drinking water management.
A drinking water source protection report:
- identifies the public drinking water source area boundary
- assigns priority areas and protection zones
- assesses risks to drinking water quality and public health
- recommends management measures to address the risks
- guides land use planning and development
- provides an essential guide for local and state government, water service providers, industry, mining and agriculture, developers and land owners.
A to Z of public drinking water source areas
You can download the reports for each public drinking water source area on the drinking water source protection reports page.
The reports are also available in the drinking water document collection.
To find out where public drinking water source areas are in WA, use our online mapping tool.
