Regional standpipes access and locations

A regional standpipe is a metered service providing access to bulk water supplies in regional Western Australia.

Regional standpipes provide a water source for communities that are remote from water schemes. They can supplement household, business, firefighting and stock watering needs.

Due to climate change some regions have been impacted by reduced rainfall and hotter and drier conditions. To secure water supply for some of these areas we use water carting and standpipes. 

Regional standpipes are typically owned by the local shire or privately owned.

To find out more, read our "Using a fixed standpipe in regional Western Australia" brochure.

Who do I contact to get access?

To access a publicly available regional standpipe, please contact your local shire.

Below are the standpipe locations for each region.

Regional locations

Standpipes fees and charges

Local shires are responsible for installing and maintaining infrastructure and setting the prices for accessing public regional standpipes. Please refer to the regional standpipes pricing FAQs for more information.

Please note that water use charges in regional towns are often higher than in metro areas because it’s more expensive to supply water there. This is mainly due to the remote locations and smaller populations, which means the costs are shared among fewer people. 

To help with this, we have a maximum charge per kilolitre for businesses, based on their Non-residential class step 15. This cap ensures that even if the cost of providing water is high, customers won’t face extremely high bills. For more information on current fees and charges, please refer to our fixed regional standpipes fees and charges. 

Your responsibilities

Please ask the shire for advice on how to safely access the fixed standpipes before using it.

• Treat carted potable water before drinking, showering, food preparation and other potable uses.
• Seek treatment advice for carted potable water from the Department of Health, where required.
• Report faults and damage to a public regional standpipe to the local shire.
• Seek advice on safely accessing the regional standpipe before operating it.
• Report misuse of fire-fighting standpipes to Water Corporation.

From time to time, Water Corporation may advise a public fixed standpipe is not to be used for operational reasons. You must comply with this directive to protect the drinking water supply.

Drought conditions

A 'Water Deficiency Declaration' is a government response to provide water to farmers for emergency animal welfare needs during very dry periods. 

Water Deficiency Declarations are made by the Minister for Water, in consultation with the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). 

When a declared drought zone exists, shire-owned high-flow standpipes will be made available at concessional rates in accordance with the terms of the declaration. If conditions for commercial use relief are not specified in the declaration, standard rates will apply. 

Water made available from standpipes/tanks linked to a piped water service is intended for short-term emergency use only and not used as a regular source of water to provide for the ongoing needs of a farming business. 

Unrestricted draw down from standpipes may compromise the supply rate to landholders connected directly to the pipeline or town residents. Water Corporation reserve the right to close standpipes should supply be compromised.

Closure of standpipes

We may occasionally close standpipes for a variety of reasons.

Short term supply issues

When demand for water exceeds the town supply, we may need to close fixed standpipes to maintain a reliable drinking water service to customers connected to scheme water.

Maintenance

Occasionally we need to close standpipes if maintenance to the scheme is required. This can be due to leaks, planned maintenance or scheme upgrades etc.

Fires

Bush fires often damage critical water infrastructure and make fixed standpipes unavailable. While we will do everything possible to maintain scheme water supplies during a bushfire, it cannot be guaranteed and should not be relied upon as the primary source of water for firefighting purposes.

Standpipes are generally provided in sections of the network where both residential and commercial connections to the scheme are established as a Non-Standard Water Service where prior notification of interruption or closure is not required and the same regulated time constraints do not bind restoration of supply as those connected to the scheme.