New infrastructure delivering for the Iga Warta Homeland and Iwantja
Water upgrades are now complete at the Iga Warta Homeland on Adnyamathanha Country in the northern Flinders Ranges.
This is the first South Australian project finished under the Australian Government’s original $150 million commitment to First Nations water infrastructure.
The project included:
- building 2 new bore wells
- installing pumps, monitoring systems and solar panels.
Previously the community relied on one well. This well often had iron bacteria contaminating the water. When this happened, they had to use drinking rainwater for other domestic water uses. When the rainwater ran out, they had to buy and transport water in.
The project also installed 2 new water storage tanks. Together they can hold 290,000 litres of water.
These improvements ensure more reliable and safe water for First Nations people.
The project is already helping in other ways:
- boosting local tourism
- re-establishing native vegetation and horticulture
- training community members to manage the water system.
The Australian Government ($190,000) and the South Australian Government ($150,000) funded the project.
Both governments have committed to improve water security in other Flinders Ranges homelands. This includes the next stage of works for Iga Warta.
Funding confirmed for another First Nations project in SA
$2.27 million is being invested towards improving water security in Iwantja (Indulkana), in the APY Lands. This will help ensure all Australians have safe and reliable water.
This project will:
- improve water supply and green spaces
- provide more groundwater bores and associated infrastructure
- improve health and support housing.
The Australian and South Australian governments are each contributing $1,135,000.