Food & water security

UNSW Engineering staff and students collaborated with DEG and WAMS to develop irrigation solutions and shade for the WAMS Community Garden. The garden's water efficient microfarm was launched in December 2020 and is providing ongoing access to healthy food for clients of WAMS' chronic disease program. Since then, WAMS and DEG have been working to increase the productivity of the garden to provide more fresh fruit and vegetables. In 2022, YN published a briefing paper on Sustaining the WAMS Community Garden in order to share what the program has learnt with other communities.

The Food and Water for Life Program has been boosted by a five-year NHMRC grant (2021-2025), Food and Water for Life: co-creation and evaluation of sustainable innovations to strengthen food and water security, with collaborators from UNSW and the George Institute for Global Health. In collaboration with WAMS, YN seeks to enable community-led sustainable food and water initiatives that will be run by and employ Aboriginal people and ensure healthy drinking water and fresh, nutritious food produced locally for years to come.

In 2022, with colleagues from the George Institute for Global Health and UNSW, YN surveyed 251 Walgett community members about their experiences of food and water security. They found that:

• Almost half (46%) reported experiencing food insecurity, which is much higher than previous national surveys
• Almost half (44%) of the Walgett Aboriginal community surveyed reported experiencing water insecurity, which is more severe than experienced by some communities in Bangladesh and Lebanon
• Some were spending $30-50 per week on bottled water, making it challenging to afford healthy foods.

Yuwaya Ngarra-li has been working to ensure safe drinking water for the Walgett community since 2019, when UNSW researchers tested Walgett's bore water and found the sodium content was around 300mg sodium/litre, almost twice the accepted levels for palatability in the Australian Government's drinking water guidelines and 15 times the levels recommended for people with hypertension.

While a reverse osmosis facility was constructed in Walgett in May 2020 after DEG and WAMS advocacy on this issue, it was closed in September 2020 due to technical problems, and there have been ongoing concerns about the high sodium levels and health implications. A briefing paper on Walgett's drinking water management was published in February 2023, and following widespread media attention of the community survey results and the health and cost burden of poor water quality, new NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson visited Walgett in April 2023 and committed to a long-term solution. The town water supply was subsequently switched to river water in May 2023, however it was again switched back to bore water in June 2023 due to other issues. The NSW Government continues to work with the Shire Council to improve technical capacity around Walgett's water supply.

Meanwhile, DEG has installed a bespoke Reverse Osmosis chilled drinking water system in its main street shorpfront to test improved accessibility of quality drinking water. As of February 2025, this unit has delivered over 20,000 litres of free, clean and safe drinking water to Walgett residents.

With WAMS staff and Walgett IGA, DEG is developing a variety of healthy supermarket initiatives, including a Meal of the Month promotion and WAMS Choice of healthier items on the supermarket shelves.

This supports local gardeners to share resources and coordinate planting and harvesting.

Due to the long-term community-led efforts to improve food and water security in Walgett through the Food and Water for Life program, DEG was able to move quickly during COVID in 2020 and 2021, and then during flooding in 2022, to work with the local IGA, donors, local council, WAMS and others to ensure that people had access to urgently needed food and water supplies.

With collaborators from the UNSW Global Water Institute, DEG is investigating the suitability of Walgett's alluvial reservoir for providing water to other garden locations in the town. They are also scoping a community meals initiative, and through the School Reference Group continue to advocate for daily, free, nutritous meals to be served in Walgett schools. YN is also investigating the relevant laws, policies and guidelines for food and water security in Walgett, documenting what can be learnt from past food and water crises and how to better respond in the future.

• Dunning A, Gala D, Weatherall L, Hicket T, Corby C, Tonkin T, Deane A, Spencer W, McCausland R, Bennett-Brook K & Webster J (2025) Food and Water for Life: Strenghthening community-led initiatives, 2019-2024.
• Weatherall L, Trindall A, Tonkin T, Santos JA, Patay D, McCausland R, Spencer W, Leslie G, Baldry E, Bennett-Brook K, Coombes J, Mackean T, Shanthosh J, Madden T, Moore B, Deane A, Earle N, Corby C, Nathan M, Young SL, Rosewarne E & Webster J (2025) 'Measuring Food and Water Security in an Aboriginal Community in Regional Australia', The Australian Journal of Rural Health 33(1): e13214.
• Rosewarne E, Tonkin T, Trindall A, Santos JA, Patay D, McCausland R, Spencer W, Corby C, Coombes J, Mackean T, Leslie G, Earle N, Baldry E, Shanthosh J, Madden T, Deane A, Weatherall L, Moore B, Bennett-Brook K & Webster J (2024) 'Food intake in an Australian Aboriginal rural community facing food and water security challenges: A cross-sectional survey', Nutrition & Dietetics Early View 82(1): 86-96. 
• Tonkin T, Deane A, Trindall A, Weatherall L, Madden T, Moore B, Earle N, Nathan M, Young S, McCausland R, Leslie G, Bennett-Brook K, Spencer W, Corby C,  Webster J & Rosewarne E (2023) Yuwaya Ngarra-li Community Briefing Report: Food and Water for Life, Key findings from the Food and Water Security Surveys in Walgett.
• Hart AC, Rosewarne E, Spencer W, McCausland R, Leslie G, Shanthosh J, Corby C, Bennett- Brook K & Webster J (2021) 'Indigenous Community-Led Programs to Address Food and Water Security: Protocol for a Systematic Review', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18, pp. 6366- 6366.