Pressing water regulation from state and federal governments will force the mining industry to adopt comprehensive water measurement and accounting systems.
The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has announced it will develop a system to measure and account for water use across the sector to help the industry adapt to tightening regulations.
The Water Accounting Framework is being developed by the Minerals Council of Australia, the New South Wales Minerals Council and the Sustainable Minerals Institute.
According to the MCA, the system will represent the first attempt by any industry in Australia to accurately and consistently measure and account for water use.
“The framework establishes a consistent approach for quantifying flows into and out of minerals operations,” MCA Assistant Director of Environment Policy Dr Jason Cummings said.
“Many minerals operations, and companies, have comprehensive water accounting systems in place to measure, monitor and report water use.
“However, these are often site-specific and hard to use when comparing water use across industries. Industry recognises that there is a clear need to improve the approach.
According to Cummings, there is a pressing regulatory need for a consistent picture of the minerals industry’s water use.
“The Federal Government, under the National Water Initiative, is moving to require all state and territories to report water use consistently,” Cummings said.
“Our Water Accounting Framework is being developed in consultation with the Water Accounting Standards Board and will be an off-the-shelf solution for the minerals industry to adapt their current systems.
“The continuing research and development program will further develop appropriate reporting frameworks for minerals operations to enable their water use to be understood by a variety of stakeholders.”
The water accounting framework will be a focus of the Water in Mining Conference in Perth today, where the first ever water account for a commercial operation will be unveiled.
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