The first desalinated water was produced from the Adelaide Desalination Plant at the end of July 2011.
South Australia’s minister for water, Paul Caica, visited the plant on 31 July to taste, for the first time the desalinated water being produced by the seawater reverse-osmosis system.
Describing the production of desalinated water from the 100,000 m³/d plant as “fantastic news for South Australia” Caica said that work was continuing towards completion of the plant by the end of 2012.
“Following post-treatment, SA Water will begin a rigorous testing regime to ensure the desalinated water quality is suitable for blending with treated water from the Happy Valley Reservoir and, once they are satisfied, the desalinated water can be delivered to customer taps,” Caica said.
“From next month, the volume of desalinated water entering the SA Water supply network will progressively increase until the plant reaches full capacity by the end of 2012,” the minister confirmed.