Posted 10 Feb 2005;  On 31 Jan 2005  The West Australian newspaper in an article by Suellen Jerrard,  "South West residents demand more water, not cuts", explored the issue of looming water restrictions in SW WA country towns and local people interviewed expressed their concern that Water Corporation was not manageing dam catchments so as to minimise understory regrowth  which has been reducing runoff.  People were saying that all over the district farm dams had filled well with the winter rain but WaterCorp facilities were not benefitting to the same extent.  Page 1   and page 2

Regional Business Manager for The Water Corporation Mr Chris Elliott was quoted as saying,   "The South-West of WA has been one of the hardest hit areas of the nation with some of the lowest winter rainfalls on record being experienced around Bridgetown and Manjimup,".  In fact Manjimup winter (JJA) rainfall for 2004 was above above the average of the last 35 years.
The public has to realize that in making these sorts of distorting statements Water Corporation and Govt. people are harking back fifty years to a time of higher rainfall.  This is indeed a strange attitude for policy makers to in effect be trying to ignore the fact that for 35 years SW WA has enjoyed a pretty consistent rainfall which has returned to levels seen early in the late 19C and pre WWI times before the high rain years of  1920 to 1960.
Are we expected to forgive water policy disasters on the grounds that 35 years is not long enough for water scientists and engineers to grasp the reality of  rainfall levels we have actually experiencing since 1969 ?

Media release by Shire of Manjimup Shire President, Cr Peter McKenzie, telling WaterCorp some facts of life.

We present here the century long Manjimup rain record and also a graphic of the data since 1969 so people can see the facts with their own eyes.  Click on thumbnails for full size graphs

	35 years of rainfall history for Wilgarrup with WA Ag Dept data for  Manjimup in 2004. Surely a pretty reliable rainfall record and plenty to sustain community water supplies and the economy of the SW of WA, if only Water Corporation would get on with its job.
	A century of rainfall and we see clearly the high rainfall years of 1920 to 1960.. People have to tell  GovWater that those years are GONE Make policy based on data from the last 35 years please.

Perth Water Users reviews the water policy botch
http://au.geocities.com/perth_water/

Comment on the coming Kwinana RO desalination plant white elephant / half $Billion millstone for WA taxpayers
http://au.geocities.com/perth_water/july04.html

Facts on Gnangara pines water planning disaster
http://au.geocities.com/perth_water/gnang.html

More questions for Water Corporation
http://www.warwickhughes.com/water/quest.html

Agritech proposal to desalinate the slightly saline Wellington Dam waste water, too good an idea to interest  GovWater
http://www.agritechsmartwater.com.au/

Integrated solutions to loss of farmland due to dryland salinity Read the downloadable Agritech pdf reports
http://www.geocities.com/agritech_wa/

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