Australia

Securing Geelong’s Water Supplies – Australia

Barwon Water will be able to access more water from the Victorian water grid after completing and turning on a new pump station connected to the Melbourne to Geelong pipeline at Lovely Banks.

The new pump station means Barwon Water can extend the reach of the 59-kilometre Melbourne to Geelong pipeline (MGP), a crucial water security measure that was switched on in April.

Having access to the pipeline in addition to Barwon’s storages and the Anglesea borefield – as well as encouraging water savings and use of alternative water supplies such as recycled water and stormwater – means water supplies for the City and surrounding districts are secure.

Tugun desalination producing 15 per cent of southeast Queensland’s water supply during drought – Australia

THE desalination plant at Tugun has revved up to full capacity, producing 15 per cent of southeast Queensland’s water supply at a time when two-thirds of the state is in drought.

It comes as the State Government launches a new campaign called “Every Drop Counts”, urging Gold Coasters to limit their water consumption by cutting usage by 25 per cent to 150 litres per person per day.

Gold Coasters are the thirstiest water consumers in the southeast, using 182 litres every day, well above the 169-litre average.

Sydney Water proposes increase in price as drought hits revenue, supply – Sydney

Sydneysiders are using higher than average amounts of water and face the prospect of four more years of restrictions and a hike in bills from next July if the drought does not break.

Sydney Water has submitted a revised submission to the Independent Pricing Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for a proposal that would see annual water bills rise by $30 a year with dam levels on Tuesday sinking to 46.3 per cent.

The state government is also expected to soon announce the expansion of the desalination plant.

Up the creek: the $85 million plan to desalinate water for drought relief – Australia

The deal to crank up Adelaide’s desalination plant to make more water available to farmers in the drought-stricken Murray-Darling Basin makes no sense.

It involves the federal government paying the South Australian government up to A$100 million to produce more water for Adelaide using the little-used desalination plant.

The plant was commissioned in 2007 at the height of the millennium drought. It can produce up to 100 gigalitres of water a year – enough to fill 40,000 olympic sized swimming pools. But has been used sparingly, operating at its minimum mode of 8 gigalitres a year, because of the expense of turning seawater into freshwater.

The Rabbi and the desalination plant – Australia

In a NSW Parliamentary speech on the drought, NSW Shadow Treasurer Walt Secord cheekily told a friend that The Jewish House’s Rabbi Mendel Kastel can still continue to pray for rain, but we also have to upgrade the Sydney Desalination Plant.

Mr Secord, who is also NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel deputy chair was speaking about Labor’s in-principle support for upgrading the desalination plant, which turns ocean water into drinking water as the State is gripped in drought.

Currently, the desalination plant is providing 15 per cent of Sydney’s drinking water.

NSW water situation ‘critical’ amid warning towns could run dry by November – Australia

Parts of regional NSW could run out of water as early as November as the state faces a drought of “unprecedented proportions”.

Projections from the state’s river operator and bulk water supplier WaterNSW have revealed the worst-case scenario for NSW if there’s no significant rainfall or government intervention.

Under the worst-case scenario, the first towns to lose water supply will be Dubbo, Cobar, Nyngan and Narromine in November when the Macquarie River is forecast to run dry.

Prime Minister’s ‘Crucial’ Visit At Sydney’s Desalination Plant – Australia

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, as part of his official state visit to Australia, visited the Sydney Desalination Plant yesterday morning.

Accompanied by his high-powered delegation, Prime Minister Bainimarama said the visit to the plant was crucial because it would assist the Government in setting up similar desalination plants, particularly in the maritime islands such as the Lau Group and Yasawa.

The Fijian Government aims to allocate resources for sustained maintenance and construction of new water treatment plants, reservoirs and reticulation systems, rural water schemes, development of groundwater sources, setting up of desalination plants in the maritime region, and distribution of water tanks in rural areas.

Macarthur’s water woes worsen as Cataract Dam is taken offline – Australia

Cataract Dam is one of Macarthur’s main sources for water but the ongoing drought has left its dwindling supply unsuitable for drinking.

Dry conditions have worried residents, local drought organisations and politicians across the region for several months.

Cataract Dam was taken offline on Friday as its level had dropped to 27.1 per cent.

Sydney dam levels drop below 50 per cent for first time in 12 years – Sydney

Sydney’s dam storage levels have dipped below 50 per cent for the first time in 12 years with no end in sight to drought conditions.

Greater Sydney’s dam capacity this week fell to 49.7 per cent, according to Water NSW, which is 0.4 per cent down from the previous week.

That means dam levels are below 50 per cent for the first time since 2007. They initially dropped under the halfway mark in 2004.

Sydney’s desalination plant set to expand as drought continues – Australia

The New South Wales government has begun preliminary planning to boost output at Sydney’s desalination plant, in a bid to secure the city’s water supply as dam levels continue to drop.

The Kurnell plant, which can currently supply drinking water for up to 1.5 million people in Sydney, returned to operation in January for the second time since 2012.

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