Desal plants important if rain fails to fall

By Jorja Keay, 15 April, 2011

The state government may have to continue to rely heavily on desalination plants and alternative water resources if Perth has another dry winter, according to experts.  

It is likely that Perth will experience a dry winter, says Neil Bennet from the Australia Government Bureau of Meteorology.

The Water Minister, Bill Marmion says he’s concerned.

Bill Marmion told the Fremantle Gazette in March that Perth is expected to come up dry this winter and despite efforts made by the public to conserve water, something may need to be done to bridge the gap.

Measures have already been put into place to help Perth with its water crisis, such as the Southern Seawater Desalination plant in Binningup and tougher water restrictions place on Perth suburbs by the state government.

The Southern Seawater Desalination plant is scheduled to start supplying Perth in December and room has been left on the site for a second plant.

The second plant is set to double the output of water and will supply Perth with about 30 per cent of its water.

According to Mr Marmion, Perth has saved 15 billion litres of water this past year.

However, according to the West Australian Water Corporation the percentage of the total water capacity in Perth dams are at an exceptionally low 23.7 per cent, with the total storage of water being 147.22 gigalitres.

It is believed that the desal plant and with the contribution of groundwater, a further 165 billion litres of water will be available.

However, Mr Marmion has said this may not be enough.

“I want to avoid tougher restrictions where possible, but that depends on our winter rainfall and how much water we can save as a community,” Mr Marmion said.

The Water Corporation is also doing its bit to contribute to the water shortage crisis.

A two-year pilot project has been proposed to treat wastewater from Beenyup and inject it into the Gnangara Mound.

Water may also need to be drawn from the Yarragadee and Gnangara mounds.

The Target 60 campaign has also been lodged by the Water Corporation encouraging people to save 60 litres of water per person, per day.

Fran Logan, the Opposition spokesperson told the Fremantle Gazette that not enough is being done to invest in Perth’s water needs.

The opposition wants more to be done by the state government, commenting that plans for more desalination plants and water recycling plans should be fast-tracked.