Premier Beattie's buried desalination plant plans ...
Obtained by the Courier Mail under Freedom of Information legislation - Premier Beattie must have forgotten to table it in Cabinet!
Recognises that recycled water is not a new source of water.
Recognises that recycled water is not a new source of water.
Excerpt from the Courier Mail:
Push to tap brine power
11 April 2007
The world's biggest desalination plant should be built north of Brisbane to drought-proof southeast Queensland, a report commissioned by the Beattie Government recommends.The report says the plant would supply water to Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and Ipswich in a water supply emergency.
It assumes the plant – likely to cost at least $3 billion – would still be needed to cope with future drought even if all new water supply facilities planned by the Government, including the controversial Traveston Crossing dam, go ahead.
The September 2006 report, by engineering consultants Kellogg, Brown and Root, was commissioned by the Department of Natural Resources and Water.
The Courier-Mail obtained it under Freedom of Information laws.
It is one of several reports in Government hands that recommend a second desalination plant for the region, with most preferring a site on Bribie Island.
The KBR report says it assessed the northern site in terms of such a plant delivering 400 million litres a day of desalinated seawater. The world's biggest existing desalination plant, Israel's Ashkelon facility, produces 320 million litres a day.
The Government has previously played down the need for such a plant to be built at Bribie Island, saying it had environmental concerns about the impact of brine discharge from the plant on Moreton Bay.
Infrastructure Minister Anna Bligh issued a statement last night saying desalination facilities for the region were "still under assessment".
She said cost and environmental issues associated with the Bribie Island option highlighted the "importance and benefits of the Traveston Crossing Dam – a cost effective strategy".
The KBR report insists the plant is needed to avoid failure of the region's water supply due to the extreme drought.
It recommends that during future droughts, the Government plan for the region to rely on a mix of desalinated seawater and purified recycled water to make up for the lack of water in dams and bores.
The second desalination plant would be central to such a contingency plan.
It would be at least as large as the Gold Coast facility, which is expected to supply 125 million litres of water a day.
The KBR report suggests the second plant may need to produce up to 550 million litres a day to cope with the twin pressures of severe drought and population growth.
The report acknowledges there are environmental and feasibility issues surround a desalination facility north of Brisbane.
However it warns that "this issue is critical to the feasibility of the draft contingency plan as a whole".
See - Courier Mail - Push to tap brine power.
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 7:45 AM
2 Comments:
Anna confirms that the desal report was never taken into Cabinet. Bet they're regretting washing it through Cabinet to prevent FOI disclosure like most of their other sensitive documents.
Excerpt from ABC News:
Qld Government not considering Bribie desalination plant
11 April 2007
The State Government has again ruled out building a desalination plant at Bribie Island, north of Brisbane, despite a report recommending the option.
The report was commissioned by the Department of Natural Resources and Water and says a $3 billion plant would safeguard the state's water supply for the future.
But Infrastructure Minister Anna Bligh says it has not been considered by Cabinet and a desalination plant at Bribie Island is not part of the Government's plan.
"We went to the election last year with a very comprehensive plan for a water grid in south-east Queensland that does include a desalination plant at Tugun," Ms Bligh said.
"It does not include any desalination plant at Bribie.
"I should be very clear, this report is just that, it is a draft report with recommendations.
"It has not been considered by Government."
11:00 AM, April 11, 2007
So now we see that the Brisbane community have "other options" and they have every right to say NO to the recycled sewage plan.
This government have tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the people but the citizens have been well educated by the book put out by Manners and Dowson.
The majority now know that they do not want to be part of this experiment which will be the world's first Toilet to Tap scheme because the dams will be too low to do anything else!!
5:45 PM, April 11, 2007
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