Melbourne desalination plant
Encyclopedia
Bass Coast Shire
Bass Coast Shire is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the south-eastern part of the state, less than 90 minutes from Melbourne, and includes the popular tourist destination, Phillip Island...
near Wonthaggi
Wonthaggi, Victoria
Wonthaggi is a town located south east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland and Bass Highways, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia...
, in southern Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011. When completed, the plant will be an integral part of Victoria's water system, supplying water via a series of existing and proposed pipelines.
The desalination plant was promoted through the late 2000s in response to the water restrictions and population growth as being part of the Victorian Government's "Our Water, Our Future" water plan. Marketing material was via print, digital and television advertisements, and included other associated projects such as the North-South Pipeline, the Cardinia Pipeline and a proposed interconnector to Geelong
Geelong, Victoria
Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...
.
The plant site is about 500 metres inland and associated infrastructure will include tunnels connecting the plant to marine intake and discharge structures up to 1.2 km out to sea, an 85 kilometre pipeline to connect the plant to Melbourne's water supply system, and power supply infrastructure for the plant. The plant is intended to provide up to 150 gigalitres of additional water per year, with the potential to expand production to 200 gigalitres per year.
The project has encountered a campaign of opposition from community groups and local residents, and the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
. Regular public rallies have been conducted on the site and in Melbourne since its proposal. One community group Your Water, Your Say was sent bankrupt following a lost legal case and pursued legal costs after the group legally pursued the Victorian Government over lack of reports and consultation. The case centred on initial water requirement figures, feasibility studies and environmental effects reports amongst other issues. More recently, a new opposition group Watershed Victoria, has continued the opposition campaign.
Background and project history
The disbanding of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works in 1992 transferred control over the planning process regarding major water and sewerage construction projects to developers. This process came under increased criticism during initial feasibility studies and assessments of Melbourne's water supply and the desalination plant.By June 2007, the Victorian Government released its water management strategy marketed as Our Water Our Future. As part of the plan, the government announced its intention to develop a seawater reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis is a membrane technical filtration method that removes many types of large molecules and ions from solutions by applying pressure to the solution when it is on one side of a selective membrane. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and...
desalination plant to "augment Melbourne's water supply, as well as other regional supply systems."
The total average inflow into Melbourne dams from 1913 to 1996 was 615GL per year, whilst average inflow 1997-2009, during the most severe drought ever recorded in Victoria, it was 376GL per year. Rapid population growth has also put pressure on reserves. Reserves in the state's water storage dams have been decreasing since 1998, to around a third of maximum capacity. Consequently, water restrictions have been in place for several years.
Increased Winter-Spring rains since 2007 took water storages above 40%. In early September 2010, many regions around the state flooded for the first time since the drought began in the late 1990s, prompting some to define the end of the drought in Victoria.
Proposal
Associated infrastructure includes tunnels connecting the plant to marine intake and discharge structures, an 85 km pipeline to connect the plant to Melbourne's existing distribution network at Berwick
Berwick, Victoria
Berwick is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Casey. At the 2006 Census, Berwick had a population of 36,420....
, and power supply infrastructure for the plant. Water will enter the City water supply system through Cardinia Reservoir
Cardinia Reservoir
Cardinia Reservoir is a 287,000 megalitre water storage located in Emerald-Clematis-Dewhurst in south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Construction started in May 1970 and was completed in 1973 at a cost of more than A$11.4 million dollars.-History:...
.
A windfarm located at Glenthompson is proposed to be built to offset the electricity used by the plant.
The plant is intended to operate at full capacity for a number of years until Melbourne's dams exceed 65% capacity.
Estimated water production is 150 billion litres (150 gigalitres) of desalinated water per year, potentially capable of providing around a third of Melbourne's annual water consumption based on 2007 consumption levels. It is intended that the water produced will be supplied to Melbourne, Geelong, Western Port and South Gippsland.
When completed, the desalination plant would represent the largest addition to Melbourne's water system since the addition of the Thomson River Dam
Thomson River Dam
The Thomson Dam is located on the Thomson River about 130 km east of Melbourne in Gippsland near the former township of Beardmore and the Baw Baw National Park....
in 1983.
Environmental effects studies
In August 2008, a 1600-page environmental effects study report was prepared and found that; "...several protected species could be affected by the plant's construction and operation — including the orange-bellied parrot, the growling grass frog and the giant Gippsland earthworm — but none would be left "significantly" worse off.". The community was given 30 business days to read, study and prepare responses to the 1600-page report. Watershed Victoria claimed that this was insufficient time for community groups to analyse the report and prepare submissions.Toxicity of output
In an article published in the Age on 29 August 2011, columnist Kenneth Davidson identified that the likely boron output level above 1ppm would require the closure of the plant under the terms of the contract with the Victorian government. Boron is a cumulative toxin that affects male reproductive fitness.Contract to build and operate
There were eight tenderers for win the contract. http://www.theage.com.au/national/aquasure-wins-desal-plant-contract-20090730-e2hm.html Two consortia were short-listed for the construction and operation of the plant — AquaSure (Thiess/Suez) and BassWater (John Holland/Veolia EnvironmentalVeolia Environmental
Veolia Environnement S.A. is a multinational French company with activities in four main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities - water supply and water management, waste management, energy and transport services. In 2009, Veolia employed around 300,000 employees in...
).
On 30 June 2009, the consortium AquaSure, which is made up of Degremont, Macquarie Capital
Macquarie Group
Macquarie Group Limited is a global investment banking and diversified financial services group, providing banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services to institutional, corporate and retail clients and counterparties around the world...
and Thiess
Leighton Holdings
Leighton Holdings is Australia's largest project development and contracting group. It is active in the telecommunications, engineering and infrastructure, building and property, mining and resources, and environmental services industries...
, was chosen as the winning bidder. Simultaneously, it was announced that construction was scheduled to commence in late 2009, proposing that water be delivered by late 2011.
Location
The proposed site is a 20 hectare site adjacent to Williamsons Beach on the Bass Coast
Bass Coast Shire
Bass Coast Shire is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the south-eastern part of the state, less than 90 minutes from Melbourne, and includes the popular tourist destination, Phillip Island...
in south eastern Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. It is between Wonthaggi
Wonthaggi, Victoria
Wonthaggi is a town located south east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland and Bass Highways, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia...
and Kilcunda
Kilcunda, Victoria
Kilcunda is a seaside town in Victoria. It is located 117 km southeast from Melbourne on the Bass Highway in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Situated along the rugged coastline between Phillip Island and Wonthaggi, Kilcunda is well known for its popular fishing, surfing...
and near the Powlett River. It is located on Bunurong
Bunurong
The Bunurong are Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation, who occupy South-Central Victoria, Australia. Prior to European settlement, they lived as all people of the Kulin nation lived, sustainably on the land, predominantly as hunters and gatherers, for tens of thousands of years...
land and many significant archaeological artefacts have previously been discovered around the construction site, including a significant fossil site on a nearby coastline.
Costing
- The capital cost for the project was initially estimated to be $2.9 billion in the initial feasibility study, this was later revised to $3.1 billion and then to $3.5 billion. After the winning bidder was announced it was revised to $4 billion.
- Operating costs are to be charged by a private firm over a 25–30 year period and are estimated to be around $1.5 billion. This includes labour, replacement of membranes, chemicals costs and energy, and were initially estimated at $132 million per annum. Unlike previous water infrastructure works in Melbourne, the plant will be built and operated as a public-private partnershipPublic-private partnershipPublic–private partnership describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies...
.
A report by the Water Services Association of Australia conducted in 2008, modelling several national water-supply scenarios for 2030, determined that sourcing water supply from seawater desalination was the most energy-intensive. The report predicted that if desalination became the primary source of supplying around 300 litres per person per day, energy usage would rise by 400% above today's levels.
On 12 December 2009 The Age newspaper published details of considerable areas of land made cheaply available to the plant's developers without the value of such land being included in the project's official costs.
- The average water bill for residents living in Melbourne is estimated to rise by around 64% over the next 5 years. Water price plans released by the Essential Services Commission illustrate that metropolitan water providers will charge between 87 per cent and 96 per cent more for water. Water Minister Tim Holding, has stated that; "Melbourne residents need to help pay for major water infrastructure projects, such as the desalination plant and the Sugarloaf (North South) pipeline."
- Comparatively, the Kwinana Desalination PlantKwinana Desalination PlantThe Kwinana Desalination Plant, located south of Perth, Western Australia, turns seawater from Cockburn Sound into nearly 140 megalitres of drinking water per day, supplying the Perth metropolitan area....
in PerthPerth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
was completed in 2006, has roughly 30–50% the output of the Wonthaggi plant, however, it cost $387 million to build and did not include an 85kM pipeline and windfarm.
Energy consumption
The plant is estimated to require between 90 and 120MW of electricity to operate. Additional energy will be required to pump the desalinated water from Wonthaggi to Cardinia Reservoir in Melbourne.A commitment was made to invest in renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
to offset the power the plant uses in an attempt to make it carbon neutral
Carbon neutral
Carbon neutrality, or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset, or buying enough carbon credits to make up the difference...
.
Construction
The Victorian Government estimate approximately 4,745 full-time equivalent jobs will be generated by the project over the two-year construction period. Construction work officially began on 6 October 2009.Opposition
Several community groups as well as the Australian GreensAustralian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
opposed the project. The community group Your Water Your Say was one of the first organised opposition groups and legally pursued the Government in relation to claims the group made concerning the plant. The government pursued legal costs, which sent the group bankrupt.
Public rallies and protests have been held both at the site in Wonthaggi and in Melbourne on Spring Street
Spring Street, Melbourne
Spring Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north-south, and is the easternmost street in the Hoddle Grid. The street travels from Flinders Street in the south, to La Trobe Street and the Carlton Gardens in the north...
outside the State Parliament buildings
Parliament House, Melbourne
Parliament House in Melbourne, located at Spring Street in East Melbourne at the edge of the Melbourne city centre, has been the seat of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia, since 1855 .- History :In 1851, even before the colony of Victoria acquired full parliamentary self-government, Governor...
throughout 2007, 2008 and 2009. In July 2008, a group of around 50 people conducted a rally on the site, several people were removed from Crown land, none were arrested.
In June 2009, a petition including 3,000 signatories opposing the plant was presented to the Victorian Parliament.
Your Water Your Say v Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts
Your Water Your Say (YWYS) opposed the proposal, taking legal action against the Victorian State Government regarding non-disclosure of financial information and lack of environmental studies and reports. As of July 2008 YWYS lost the action, and the Federal CourtFederal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law , along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges...
awarded costs to the State Government estimated to be up to $200,000, effectively rendering the community group broke. YWYS was subsequently disbanded.
In their submission response to the EES, YWYS stated: "The Federal and State Governments are aware that YWYS is unlikely to be in a position to pay its significant legal costs and hence their apparent inability to make a decision on this front can only be interpreted as an attempt to further avoid community scrutiny of this project."
Sharing of private information with private consortia
In December 2009, it was revealed that private information obtained by Victoria Police during surveillance efforts on individuals involved or corresponding with YWYS, Watershed Victoria and other community groups, had been made available to the private consortium building the desalination plant, Aquasure, via a memorandum between the State Government, Victoria Police and Aquasure. Victoria Police responded by explaining that the information would be used to better "manage" future activities and potential "security threats".2007
- 19 June – the Victorian Government announces its intention to develop a seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant on the coast near Wonthaggi. The plant is explained to be part of a water plan marketed as Our Water Our Future.
- 28 December – the Minister for Planning for the Victorian Government determines that the project would require assessment under the Environment Effects Act 1978 and preparations for an Environment Effects Statement (EES) begin.
2008
- 25 January – Compulsory acquisition notices issued to the residents of the proposed site.
- 4 February – the Federal Government determines that the project will have to require approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
- 21 February–13 March – draft scoping requirements for the EES placed on public exhibition.
- 4 May – final scoping requirements for the EES issued.
- 13 June – Justice Heerey awards costs to the Federal and State Governments a result of the action – Your Water Your Say v Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts & Anor; Federal Court Proceeding VID188/2008.
- 5 July – The plant is addressed during the Climate Emergency Rally at various locations in Melbourne.
- 100m of coastline is landscaped to alter the flow of Powlett River.
- 20 August–30 September – Environment Effects Statement (EES) released for public comment by the State Government, community given 5 weeks to submit responses to the 1,600-page report.
2009
- 11 January – Planning Minister, Justin Madden, approved a planning scheme amendment to allow for a pilot desalination plant to come into effect on 17 January.
- 30 July – Winning bidder for construction announced.
- 6 October – Construction commenced.
Photos
File:Wonthaggi_desalination_plant_DSC_6483.JPG|Construction of pipeline to Melbourne from Wonthaggi desalination plant
File:Wonthaggi desalination plant DSC 6482.JPG|Construction of pipeline to Melbourne from Wonthaggi desalination plant
File:Wonthaggi desalination plant DSC 6471.JPG|Wonthaggi desalination plant construction in progress
File:Wonthaggi desalination plant DSC 6478.JPG|Little Powlett River and rig near Wonthaggi desalination plant
File:Wonthaggi desalination plant DSC 6481.JPG|Little Powlett River estuary near site of Wonthaggi desalination plant