The South Australian Government has announced Port Stanvac as the preferred site for a $1.1 billion metropolitan desalination plant to supply 50GL of water a year for Adelaide.

Meeting the Challenge

Reports, progress and links:

In December 2007, the SA Government released the summary report of its Desalination Working Group which examined the impact of the drought on water supply, the feasibility of desalination, the preferred size and location, integration into the existing supply network, and cost implications.

The Desalination Working Group recommended Port Stanvac as the most suitable site for a reverse osmosis plant because of relatively deep seawater, marine dispersion characteristics, better access to water supply network, suitable land availability and lower construction costs. Final site confirmation is dependent on environmental considerations and an environmental baseline study for the Gulf St Vincent is under way.

The new plant is due to be completed in 2012.

Expressions of interest have been called for designing, constructing and operating a $10 million temporary pilot desalination plant at Port Stanvac. The pilot plant will test water quality, filtration and pre-treatment technology required for the 50-gigalitre plant. Stage 1 of pilot plant testing will run for 6-12 months to assess the pre-treatment process in a range of climatic conditions. Stage 2 will involve up to 6 months of reverse osmosis membrane testing.

Reports, progress and links:

SA Water will take this into account in the preparation of long-term plans for the various water supply and sewerage systems. Refer to Strategy 59.