00:00The south-west town of Quinanup is one of the state's wettest towns, with an annual rainfall over one metre.
00:09But not a drop of it is for drinking. For the past 15 years they've had potable water trucked in.
00:16I think they think it's a problem they hoped would go away. If they ignore it enough, it doesn't exist.
00:23Passing trucks are a daily nuisance for Mary Williams.
00:26I mean, it must be costing them a fortune.
00:29The tanker behind me carries about 28,000 litres of water.
00:32And during the summer, the government contracts five to six of these trucks per day to maintain water supply to towns like Quinanup and Northcliffe.
00:41The state government has so far spent at least $4 million carting the water.
00:46A spokesperson says it's the most efficient solution given the modest water needs of both towns.
00:53The Water Corporation deemed Quinanup and Northcliffe's local water sources unsafe for drinking due to nearby septic tanks and farm runoff.
01:01Well, we're the wettest town in the state. And we're getting water carted in from out of town. It just doesn't make sense.
01:07Alternatives such as a new dam or pipelines are considered too expensive.
01:12With the town's demand for drinking water expected to double by 2060, the Water Corporation is under pressure to find a solution.
01:20We need to look long term for our water security in the southwest. We are going to be one of the hardest hit in a drying climate.
01:25Is it going to be eventually that we're going to have truck nose to tail just to keep water in the community?
01:32Water remains an unlikely bottleneck for the state's wettest towns.
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