Gold Coast desalination project

The Gold Coast desalination project is a proposed desalination plant to supply water to the Gold Coast and South East Queensland to be built at Tugun.

After investigations by the Gold Coast Desalination Alliance the Gold Coast City Council chose Tugun as the most suitable site for the desalination plant. The cost is expected to be in excess of $1 billion. The GCD Alliance consists of Veolia Water, John Holland Group, Sinclair Knight Merz and Gold Coast Water.

Initial plans were for a $260 million plant producing 55 megalitres a day. The State Government then contributed $869 million to increase the output to 125 megalitres a day to share with the rest of southeast Queensland.An additional increase in output to 167 megalitres a day has been approved and this will maximise the pipe capacity.

The Gold Coast desalination plant will be powered entirely from fossil fuels and at a time when the coal fired power stations have significantly reduced capacity due to the drought. At a rate of over 4 kWh per cubic meter to produce this will be the most expensive source of water in Australia.

The Tugun site

coord|28.1571|S|153.497|E [ [http://goldcoastcity.com.au/attachment/goldcoastwater/DesalPipelinefig_1a.pdf Gold Coast Desalination Pipeline Network Map 1a] ] Tugun was selected as the preferred site for the proposed plant because:
*It has the least environmental impact when compared to the other short listed sites
*It has the lowest comparative net present value cost
*It is the only site to which sufficient power can be provided to enable the facility to be operational within the required timeframe
*It is aligned with community values and expectations – community consultation conducted late last year highlighted that environmental impacts and cost were the most important issues when considering the location of the proposed plant
*It is compatible with surrounding land use
*It is within close proximity to the ocean and hence requires the shortest intake and outtake pipelines of the three site options
*The inlet and outlet pipes cross a minor fault line

Community concerns

Community groups such as the Queensland Conservation Council and GECKO have expressed concern over environmental issues with the project.

The Queensland Government says it plans to offset all carbon emissions from the desalination plant by powering it with green energy.

External links

* [http://www.desalinfo.com.au/ The Gold Coast Desalination Project]
* [http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_gcw.asp?PID=5421 Gold Coast Water - Proposed desalination site - Tugun]
* [http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_news_item.aspx?pid=5839 Gold Coast City Council - Tugun desalination plant is another step closer to reality]
* [http://goldcoastcity.com.au/t_gcw.asp?PID=3174 Gold Coast Water - Desalination Project Update]
* [http://news.theage.com.au/gold-coast-desal-plant-to-go-green/20080316-1zq7.html The Age - Gold Coast desal plant to go green]

References