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Water Corporation urged Western Australia’s peak environmental body to recommend reimposing strict guidelines on Alcoa’s mining operations near Perth’s drinking water supply, according to newly released documents.
And further documents, obtained via Freedom of Information requests from online publication Boiling Cold, have revealed the state government warned Alcoa in 2023 there was a real risk of future operations being shut down if the company failed to address environmental concerns.
In March 2023, then-premier Mark McGowan wrote to Alcoa stating he was concerned the mining company was yet to address key issues raised by the state government through the Mine Management Program assessment process.
That was just after this masthead revealed the government held genuine concerns over Perth’s drinking water.
“Of particular concern is the need for Alcoa to clearly demonstrate its commitment to (and effectiveness of) drinking water protection in Serpentine Dam, and the related matter of improving forest rehabilitation in areas cleared for mining,” McGowan wrote.
“The Western Australian Government is concerned that if Alcoa does not appropriately address these issues, this could result in significant job losses due to the halting of future operations.”
He suggested working to “explore all options to mine outside of high-risk ‘constrained’ areas within drinking water catchments”.
McGowan also requested a commitment to “rapid and high-quality rehabilitation of the Northern Jarrah Forest”, the implementation of drainage controls in “current open areas that present a significant risk to drinking water quality” and “tangible guarantees that ensure Alcoa will take responsibility for remedying any negative impacts”.
“As a priority, and ahead of further mine expansion, this should include reducing open mine areas within drinking water catchments and constrained areas,” the letter went on to state.
Then, in December 2023, Alcoa wrote to newly minted Premier Roger Cook, saying it was “not economically viable for Alcoa to completely retreat from operating in higher risk areas”.
Cook then approved Alcoa’s 2023-2027 mining plan and signed an exemption order, which allowed the company increased access to higher-risk areas.
In response to Alcoa’s Mine and Management Plan back in 2023, the Water Corporation wrote that past advice aimed at protecting water quality had not been supported in the exemption order.
The utility said a “relaxation in the existing conditions on Alcoa from past management plan approvals was required, allowing Alcoa to mine over a larger area and without almost any constraints outside 1 kilometre of the high-water mark of the dams”.
The newly released documents reveal that, in August 2025, Water Corporation urged WA’s Environmental Protection Authority to back reimposing stricter protections on Alcoa that were in place from 2021-2023.
“Water Corporation recommends the implementation of conditions on mining that align with the historical approaches taken to ensure the protection of the catchment function,” the utility’s submission to Alcoa’s proposals read.
“Moreover, the uncertainty and potential latency with the impacts, potentially occurring in a few decades, requires an approach which aligns with the precautionary approach.
“The proponent’s current mitigation needs to be updated to reflect key catchment management principles.”
In June, the WA government announced it would update Alcoa’s exemption order to reflect a new mining plan from the company and to provide “certainty and consistency to both the regulator and Alcoa”.
Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn said the new plan and exemption order would be “aligned to deliver strong environmental protection while providing certainty for ongoing mining activity”.
That order is still being finalised.
“This is no small risk that we’re talking about here.”
Greens MLC Jess Beckerling
An Alcoa spokesperson said as part of the ongoing approvals process, the company had committed to “further mitigate risks to water supply, including ceasing mining activities in the 2 kilometre reservoir protection zones, with the exception of required works related to rehabilitation and critical infrastructure”.
The spokesperson said the company was committed to responsible mining operations, and that there had been “no reduction in controls related to water protection applied to our operations”.
“The current Section 6 exemption order and 2024-2028 Mining and Management Program conditions should be read together,” they said.
“The conditions significantly increase the applicable controls to further mitigate risks to water, including formalising RPZ avoidance, significantly enhancing engineering controls, groundwater avoidance measures, accelerated rehabilitation, and strict monitoring and reporting requirements.
“Alcoa has not had a negative impact on WA’s drinking water supply since operations commenced in 1963.”
WA Greens MLC Jess Beckerling said the revelations in the new documents were “explosive”.
“The former premier Mark McGowan had said in no uncertain terms to Alcoa: ‘Back away from our water, or we will halt your operations’,” she said.
“But just a few months later, the current Cook Labor government instead chose to radically weaken water protections in Alcoa’s favour.
“This is no small risk that we’re talking about here.”
She said the documents showed it was possible for a premier to “rein in Alcoa”.
“What matters is what happens next, and what we need is for the premier to immediately and permanently impose the conditions that the Water Corporation has said need to be imposed to protect our drinking water,” she said.
A state government spokesperson said the protection of Perth’s drinking water was its number one priority, “a position made clear to Alcoa”.
“Alcoa continues to be regulated under its existing exemption order while the new order is developed,” they said.
“When issued, the new order will align with the rolling Mining Management Program to ensure consistency.
“The terms of the new order and program remain under active consideration by the state government and will be tabled in Parliament in due course.”
Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn said he was aware of the advice of the Water Corporation, and was taking it on board.
“But it wouldn’t be appropriate to talk about what the precise terms of that new exemption order will be until it’s final,” he said.
“There is literally thousands of jobs connected to Alcoa, and we will always take people’s livelihoods seriously. But we also take our water security [seriously] as well.
“We’ve been very clear with Alcoa about what our expectations are, and as I say, we have put protective mechanisms in place.”
Conservation Council WA executive director Matt Roberts said the lack of action from the government was “alarming”.
“The lack of regulatory transparency and the historic use of state-granted exemptions allowing Alcoa to bypass stringent environmental assessments can’t continue,” he said.
“By continually granting further exemptions, the government is prioritising corporate mining profits over the long-term safety of the community’s water supply and the future of the world’s only jarrah forest.”
Holly Thompson is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education and the environment.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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