Project Status: Complete
Project Participants: Murdoch University
Project Leader: Goen Ho (Murdoch University)
Water is an essential input to industrial processes and demand by industry is increasing due to growing industrial activities – and water auditing is a powerful tool for water management. In a water audit, the water quantity and water quality are determined for all water inputs and outputs of an industrial process and associated operations (e.g. offices and amenities), including stormwater and any reuse streams. An important outcome of a water auditing exercise is a list of recommendations for water conservation with options clearly identified and payback period calculated for the most promising options.
Water auditing has been practised in various forms, levels or intensity in the past, but has recently been made systematic, structured and rigorous in a text authored by Prof Goen Ho and published by the International Water Association, London. This project started in July 2009 and aimed to improve water use efficiency of industries in Kwinana through the use of a Water Auditing tool.
A water audit of Newmont's Jundee Goldmine was conducted and covered all aspects of the operation and included water sources, distribution and water quantity and quality of raw water abstraction, dewatering, tailings decant and seepage recovery processes. As part of the review process from water audits carried out in 2008, comparative water audits of the Jundee Goldmine and Jundee Village water circuit were performed in 2009. The findings illustrated how Jundee can become more water efficient by running simulations at systems level baselines including alternative options in site water distribution given site needs and efficient layout of water inputs and stores.
Robbie Cocks, a PhD candidate at Murdoch University, was awarded "best paper" during the proceedings of the Goldfields Environmental Management Group conference in Kalgoorlie during May 2010. Four Newmont gold mine case studies underpin the water auditing techniques developed in the thesis. Applications of process, non-process and domestic (village accommodation) were carried out to
showcase a broad approach towards water efficiencies and water conservation in goldmining practises.