Western Australia's peak environment group said that today's revelations on the difficulty of fixing the salinity problems of the Wellington Dam have cast serious doubt on the sustainability of water use in the region, and highlight the urgent need to rethink a massive water-wasting coal expansion in the area.

Conservation Council of WA Director Piers Verstegen said, ‘Findings released today casting serious doubt on desalination for Wellington Dam highlight the need for the State Government must urgently shift its focus to improving water efficiency in the Collie-Wellington region.

"CSIRO have predicted that we could have up to 49% less water availability in our South West by 2030 due to climate change. In these circumstances the last thing we should be doing is allowing any expansion of the water-wasting and polluting coal industry."

"The Wellington Dam is located near the town of Collie where the massively over-allocated local groundwater system is under serious pressure from households, local agriculture and the thirsty coal industry."

"By far the biggest and most unsustainable water user in this region is the coal industry, with the Collie Basin already being pumped at a rate 2000 times greater than natural sustainable inflow."

"Plans for a massive coal expansion in the region would see the region literally sucked dry by the coal industry while we continue to struggle to find water for agriculture or drinking."

The estimated water usage demands for these new coal proposals are 5 gigalitres for Muja A & B, 6.5 gigalitres for Bluewaters 3 &4 while the proposed Perdamen coal-based fertiliser plant will need an addition 12 gigalitres of water.

"Today's report is a clear wake-up call for the state Government in its approach to water management, and calls for an urgent re-think of recent approvals to allow further expansion of the Collie coal industry."

"Issues with water use and degradation by the coal industry are not confined to Collie with a looming proposal for a Coal mine in the Margaret River catchment area. Such mining operations not only degrade and pollute the local water system, but are extremely water intensive operations that cannot be allowed to go ahead if we want a sustainable water future for WA."