Commissioning is now closer for the Aus$ 1.824 billion (US$ 1.905 billion) Adelaide Desalination Project, after the 1.4 km intake began taking in seawater last week.
On 29 June 2011, as South Australia’s water minister Paul Caica toured the plant, the intake pumping station began moving seawater into the first sections of the plant.
“This is an important milestone for the Adelaide Desalination Project as the teams here continue to work towards producing the first desalinated water by the end of July and reaching the 100 billion litre annual capacity by the end of 2012,” Caica said. “Reaching these milestones demonstrates the dedication from the SA Water and AdelaideAqua D&C Consortium crews to ensure this very important project is completed with the highest regard for safety, the environment, quality and performance.”
Installation of the reverse-osmosis and ultrafiltration units in the plant has been taking place in recent weeks.
The Adelaide Desalination Project will be the subject of a special feature by SA Water in the August/September issue of Desalination & Water Reuse, which will be available at the IDA World Congress in Perth.