"The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme is a pipeline and dam project which delivers drinking water to communities in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields, particularly Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. The project was commissioned in 1896 and was completed in 1903.
During the early 1890s, thousands of settlers had swarmed into the barren and dry desert centre of Western Australia in search of gold, but existing infrastructure for the supply of water was non-existent and an urgent need arose." - Wikipedia"In 1895 the first plans were prepared for an engineering feat that would stagger the world — an attempt to pump water uphill some 500 km, from the hills near Perth to the goldfields of Coolgardie.
Before construction began, the dream had become bigger. The pipeline was extended for water to be pumped even further east, to the new goldfields of Kalgoorlie.
On 24 January 1903, the dream became a reality when water, which began its journey at Mundaring Weir, flowed into to Mt Charlotte Reservoir at Kalgoorlie.
Today, water is supplied to over 100 000 people and six million sheep in an area covering 44 000 square kilometres (two thirds the size of Tasmania)." - Goldenpipeline.com.au
The benefits of this water Supply scheme are:
- Providing water to thousands of dehydrated and thirsty 'diggers'.
- More water to be used during gold discovery, such as 'panning'
- Reduced the cost of water available to the public. After the pipeline was implemented, water cost 3 shillings and sixpence per thousand gallons, compared to water which had previously been carted by rail to Coolgardie previously at the rate of over £3 per thousand gallons.
- More abundant water will bring wealth to the community enabling more local business and therefore encouraging greater amount of people to move to the Goldfields.
- allows for a greater range of wildlife and farming opportunities.
