Mocardy Dam Pipeline Project
The Mocardy Dam project has been designed as an innovative gravity and trickle-feed system to tap water from the Shire leased Mocardy Dam into storage tanks and the other town water reserves. This alternative source of water supply means the Shire is less reliant on scheme water for non-potable uses.
Objectives
The project involves pumping water from Mocardy Dam to two storage tanks located at the Wongan Hills Airport. From this point, one tank trickle feeds water to Railway Dam, and the second gravity feeds water to new storage tanks located at Wongan Hills District High School (WHDHS). In addition to the tanks, rainwater collected by the newly installed guttering at the school supports cost-effective irrigation and ablution facilities. This project can potentially save WHDHS over $50,000 per year in water costs.
The unused, Mocardy Dam was always considered a valuable asset, and the idea of utilising catchment water from the dam was not a new one. It had in fact been ‘floating’ in the Shire’s Strategic Plan for a number of years. Without funding however, this project remained in the planning stage until 2016 when the State Government opened the Watering WA Towns funding round and the Shire, in collaboration with co-contributors the Education Department and WHDHS, moved to make an application.
The State Government grant application was successful and the Shire was able to proceed with its part of the project which utilises water from the Dam to supplement the water supply to existing facilities such as sporting ovals and community gardens as well as supplementing water needed for the town's firefighting operations. WHDHS, in partnership with the Shire, implemented their plan that utilises water from Mocardy Dam and simultaneously harvests stormwater. The water from both sources is used for the irrigation of the school's sporting grounds and services the school ablution facilities.
The project will deliver four key objectives:
- Improving the water supply efficiency and safeguarding the town against bush fires by using local water resources
- Minimising the use of potable water sources for non-potable water uses
- Strengthening Wongan Hills’ watering capabilities and working towards a more sustainable future
- Reducing WHDHS’ reliance on scheme water, which will increase the available green space for the students, and significantly reduce the utility costs to the school
Funding
In early 2017, the Shire learned of it's success in securing a $522,972 Watering WA Towns grant from the State Government towards the total project cost of $747,462.
In addition, funding was secured through the following partners:
The Education Department of WA - $100,000;
Wongan Hills District High School P & C and School Council - $5,600; and
The Shire of Wongan-Ballidu - $118,854
The Project Phases
Stage One - Complete: Installation of new tanks, guttering and storm water drainage complete at WHDHS. Pumps at Mocardy Dam installed.
Stage Two - Complete: Storage tanks installed at the Airport and the pipeline laid from Mocardy Dam to the Airport storage tanks.
Stage Three - Complete: Pipeline from the Airport to the School and Pump installed
Stage Four - Complete: Pipeline from the Airport to Railway Dam.
