Adelaide Desalination: Part of solution to safeguard South Australia’s water supplies

South Australia’s government and SA Water are committed to providing reliable drinking water supplies for the future. As part of the state’s Water for Good plan to secure water for the future, the government is building a seawater desalination plant at Lonsdale, south of Adelaide, to ensure drinking water is available even in times of drought. The total project cost is Aus$ 1.824 billion (US$ 1.905 billion) and the plant will deliver up to 100 million m /d of water each year – about half of metropolitan Adelaide’s annual water demand. A range of drinking water supply alternatives was considered, but desalination was the only climate-independent option, which could help meet the demands of South Australia’s changing climate and population growth predictions. This article first appeared in the August/September 2011 issue of Desalination & Water Reuse magazine.

South Australia’s government and SA Water are committed to providing reliable drinking water supplies for the future. As part of the state’s Water for Good plan to secure water for the future, the government is building a seawater desalination plant at Lonsdale, south of Adelaide, to ensure drinking water is available even in times of drought.

The total project cost is Aus$ 1.824 billion (US$ 1.905 billion) and the plant will deliver up to 100 million m³/d of water each year – about half of metropolitan Adelaide’s annual water demand. A range of drinking water supply alternatives was considered, but desalination was the only climate-independent option, which could help meet the demands of South Australia’s changing climate and population growth predictions.

This article first appeared in the August/September 2011 issue of Desalination & Water Reuse magazine.