PARLIAMENT has been used to press the State Government for answers on a funding request to help maintain and retain standpipes, used for water delivery to drought-hit Mid Murray Council farmers and their families.

Council has applied to PIRSA (Department of Primary Industries SA) for a $415,000 grant to automate some of the 14 standpipes in question, and/ or install a user-pays swipe-card system.

Via public consultation on the issue, the council heard that any interruption or cessation of standpipe usage at two locations in particular, Summerfield and Stonefield, would impact dozens of farming families who rely on the pipes to water their sheep.

At its March meeting, elected members agreed to keep seeking external funding sources for the provision of standpipes, and to explore other options while it continued to wait on a State Government decision.

The council's cause has been adopted by One Nation MLC Sarah Game, who asked Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Clare Scriven, for answers in state parliament a fortnight ago.

“Can the government provide an update on the status of Mid Murray Council's funding application to PIRSA and outline when the council can expect an answer?” Dr Game told parliament.

“(And) will the government concede that, due to the Mid Murray Council's population of less than 10,000 and its financial position recently being described by ESCOSA as ‘potentially unsustainable', the council cannot afford to upgrade all its standpipes and therefore needs state government assistance to continue providing water to these farming families?”

Ms Scriven replied that she had met with Mid Murray Council Mayor Simon Bailey last year and had undertaken “fruitful discussions” about standpipes, but was unable to provide a solid date for the council.

“The application is under consideration, and we will be able to provide an answer as soon as possible,” she told Dr Game.

Late last year, council - which owns the standpipes and pays to maintain them - considered closing its “regional” standpipes and maintaining only those in the townships.

The majority of the council's 49 responses received during public consultation on the issue focused on the Summerfield (27 responses) and Stonefield (15 responses) locations.

In his report to council, Mid Murray director of infrastructure and field services David Hassett conceded that the provision of standpipes was “an emotive matter, due to the importance of sourcing water within a rural and regional setting for domestic, livestock and other uses...”

However, Mr Hassett also said that the “relatively limited number of responses” showed the issue related to only “a small portion of the community and broader Mid Murray rate base”.

Mr Hassett said if council chose to close a standpipe, users would be given an “appropriate notification period... to source alternative water supply prior to the service being stopped”.

At last month's meeting, elected members endorsed a recommendation to explore alternatives for the provision of standpipes - considering the community consultation received and pending the outcome of the PIRSA funding application.

Council has already spent $120,000 in recent years upgrading eight of its standpipes., however water reporting relies on customers providing accurate readings of their water use, and abuses of this honour system have cost the council an additional $40,000 during that time.

Meanwhile Dr Game told The Murray Pioneer she would continue to use her position to advocate for South Australia's farmers.

“Our regional and rural primary producers are doing it tough at the moment,” she said, “but they remain the backbone of this state and I will support them however I can.”