Water sources are under pressure and such are their problems that Australians are looking at every option to secure long term water supplies. A range of weather resilient options to boost urban water supplies continue to be developed including desalination and the introduction of recycled water into the drinking water supply becoming a viable option to reduce water shortages and make water supplies less vulnerable to the climate.
According to its latest national report on the water industry’s performance, the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) says climate change and national awareness of the need for better water efficiency are the main drivers.
The country’s Parliamentary Secretary for Water, The Hon. Dr Mike Kelly said recently: “…relying on rainfall is a high risk strategy in an era of climate change” and water efficiency had been “embraced by urban communities and was one of the great social changes that had occurred in Australia over the last decade”.
He added: "The National Performance Report on Rural Water Providers (2007/8 highlights the devastating impact of continuing drought on the major irrigation areas, forcing providers to cut the amount of water delivered to farmers by 36%. Meanwhile these rural water service providers were able to invest $350 million in system and infrastructure improvements – an increase of 45% against the previous year.
“Australia leads the world in implementing water efficiency programs in cities and towns.”
However, despite reductions in water usage by the general population and businesses, there is still a significant shortage throughout Australia, a country that still ranks as one of the most arid in the world.
The WSAA report also noted that despite recent “welcome rain” replenishing depleted storages in some cities, other major conurbations had experienced severe dry spells that had broken all previous records, demonstrating “the highly variable nature of rainfall in Australia”. The view is that this variability is predicted to become more pronounced as a result of climate change.
Current examples of the situation show that water storage in Canberra was down at 43%; Perth was in a third decade of a drying climate and in urgent need of follow up spring rain; Melbourne had experience its driest ever six month period (January-June) with storages reduced to 26%; Adelaide had another dry year, reducing runoff to the Adelaide Hill dams and increasing reliance on the pipeline from the Murray River to 85% of Adelaide’s water needs.
The report noted that desalination is just one source of fresh water being developed in Australia to mitigate climate change risks - others include recycling schemes, accessing ground water, aquifer storage and recharge, constructing water grids, storm water recycling and building or improving dams.
While it is predicted that water charges to consumers will rise significantly to pay for the country’s huge investment program – prices are expected to double in some cities over the next 4/5 years – Australians have to face facts…water is scarce and their national and local governments have to act now.
Without question, the Australian water industry is improving its performance in vital areas including health, customer service, asset management, environment, finance and pricing, but accessing and acquiring additional resources is vital.
Water consumption in recent years has risen dramatically – it is estimated now at well over 25,000 gigalitres. The sectors of the economy that use this water are:
* Agriculture: 65% - most used for irrigation of crops and pastures
* Household: 11% - the equivalent of 285 litres per person per day
* Water supply industry 11%
* Other industries (including electricity and gas): 7.4%
* Manufacturing: 3%
* Mining: 2%
Levels of water use in the Murray-Darling Basin and in south-eastern Australia, south-east Queensland and south-west Western Australia are higher than in the rest of Australia. In fact, more than half of the country’s water use occurs in the Murray-Darling Basin, even though this area has only 6% of Australia's total surface water runoff.
· There are 501 large dams in Australia with a total storage capacity of 83,800 gigalitres... the problem is that most are never full!
· Much of Australia's groundwater is drawn from the Great Artesian Basin - the largest groundwater reserve of its type in the world. It covers 22% of the Australian continent and contains water that is up to two million years old.
Recycling for drinking
Many Australian towns and cities are increasingly looking to augment their water supplies by introducing recycled water into the drinking water supply as one viable option to reduce water shortages and make water supplies less vulnerable to climate.
The National Water Commission believes that it is essential that all water supply options are considered in order to find the most effective solution to secure city water supplies and it believes that the introduction of treated recycled water into the drinking water supply is an important element in its strategy to improve Australia's long-term water security.
Although recycling water is not a new concept in Australia, water decision-makers throughout the country are being encouraged by the Commission to enable recycled water for drinking to be considered and implemented. For decades, towns and cities have drawn upon this resource for watering recreation facilities such as parks and golf courses, supplementing environmental flows and, in some cases, for irrigated agriculture. Recycled water has long been discharged into some Australian watercourses and accessed by downstream communities for drinking purposes.
With its variable rainfall and existing water resource management challenges, climate change is having significant impact Australia’s water availability. Climate change projections indicate:
· reduced rainfall across eastern and far south west Australia
· increased rainfall variability
· increased evaporation
· significantly increased frequency and severity of drought
· changes in the frequency of extreme weather events, including flooding.
These factors, according to the NWC, will combine to put increasing pressure on water resources, which are already struggling to keep up with demand.
Desalination milestone
Australia has embraced desalination for some years and today is increasing its investment. Kwinana, the groundbreaking $387 million seawater desalination plant in Perth reached a major milestone in July this year. Kwinana has produced more than 100 billion litres of water since its commissioning in early 2007. It consistently supplies around 17% of the drinking water used by three quarters of the Western Australian community.
The plant, which was built by a consortia led by the French-based international desalination company, Degremont, is operated by Degremont and the Perth Water Corporation. Located at Kwinana, 40 kilometres south of Perth, it started supplying water to the Integrated Water Supply Scheme (IWSS) in November 2006. It became the first plant in Australia to provide desalinated water for large-scale public consumption.
"There is no doubt that the success of our desalination plant triggered plans to build similar facilities in several other parts of Australia and local and national interest remains very high," said Sue Murphy, Water Corporation chief executive. "It has operated largely as expected because of the expertise and commitment provided by the pro Alliance team involving both Degremont and the Water Corporation."
Western Australia's water minister, Graham Jacobs, said that work on the $955 million (US$ 773 million) project outside Binningup, followed the signing of contracts between the Water Corporation and the Spanish-led consortium Southern SeaWater Alliance.
“The Water Corporation has a role within the alliance to ensure that the delivery of the facility meets the long-term needs for Western Australia's sustainable water future,” he added. The consortium is led by Tecnicas Reunidas and Valoriza Agua with Australian companies A J Lucas and Worley Parsons
The 137,000 m³/d plant is due to be commissioned in 2011 and according to Dr Jacobs: “…would not come a moment too soon to cater for the challenging immediate water situation, Western Australia's ongoing growth and the corporation's ambition to reduce abstraction from the Gnangara groundwater system”. Work on a water pipeline to Harvey, linking the plant to the state’s Integrated Scheme and other components of the project, is starting soon.
A contract for a new $3.5bn (US$2.9bn) desalination plant in drought-stricken Victoria, is set to become the largest facility of its type in Australia. It will be built by the consortium, AquaSure.
As well as Degrémont, the consortium also includes Suez Environment, Australian construction firm Thiess and the Macquarie Capital Group, the country's biggest investment bank. AquaSure will build and operate the plant, which is being constructed at Wonthaggi, 132 klm south of Melbourne, as part of one of the world's largest public-private partnerships. It is estimated that the plant will generate revenues of US$1.7bn over a 30-year period. Investment funds from Australia, the UK and South Korea have also taken equity stakes in project.
The plant will process up to 150 billion litres of seawater each year when it is completed in two years time (2011), supplying one-third of Melbourne’s water needs, Geelong and towns in Western Port and South Gippsland. Currently, local dam levels here are at a mere 27 per cent of capacity due to a decade-long drought.
Victorian Premier John Brumby said that the new plant was necessary to cope with the drought conditions that increasingly impact the water resources of the state. He told The Australian newspaper…“We don't want to be a ‘pray for rain’ government, we want to put in place measures that will give us certainty.”
The desalination facility will become as environmentally sustainable as possible, using power supplied entirely by a 43-turbine wind farm being built at Glenthompson, in southwest Victoria and a larger 183-turbine farm being planned for Macarthur, 270km west of Melbourne. The larger site will have a 300MW capacity and is expected to generate enough power to make the desalination plant carbon neutral.
A reverse osmosis desalination plant is also proposed for Adelaide. It will be located at Port Stanvac, approximately 30 kilometres south of the Adelaide Central Business District and initially produce 150 ML/day with an infrastructure capable of doubling this production.
Its primary objective, according to the South Australian Government is to “Secure and diversify the sources of metropolitan Adelaide’s water supply by delivering a climate independent supply of water. The security of Adelaide’s water supply is a matter of critical concern to the South Australian community, particularly in light of the substantially reduced flows into both metropolitan Adelaide’s water reservoirs and the Murray-Darling Basin, experienced in recent years as a result of climate change and severe drought. Based on analysis of the most recent and reliable information available, the dramatic reduction of inflows into the Murray-Darling Basin catchment is expected to worsen and result in an average decline of 30 GL per annum”.
Like many other regional authorities, the SA Government is also offering a raft of water security measures including
• Demand management: Reducing the overall demand for water through a host of water conservation measures, a water pricing regime that encourages people and households to use less water, water efficiency plans for industry and a $24 million rebates package.
• Recycling: Increasing the amount of treated storm water and wastewater used for irrigation, watering of parks and gardens, flushing of toilets and other non-drinking uses.
• Catchment management: Improving the health of our river systems and water catchments, including the River
Murray, is a key element in enhancing Adelaide’s water supply. SA Water is also investigating the potential to increase the storage capacity of the Mount Lofty Ranges.
In May this year, Western Australia’s Premier Alan Carpenter announced the State Government's intention to build WA's second seawater desalination plant near Binningup. Costing $955 million, the new facility which will initially produce 45 gigalitres of water per year when it start operating in early 2011.
The Queensland Water Commission (QWC), the agency charged by the Queensland Government to develop long term water supply strategies, is responsible for setting water restriction policy and coordinating water infrastructure projects in the state. In South East Queensland, the Commission has established policy for a regional water grid known as the South East Queensland Water Grid and the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project which includes new dams and desalination plants to counter what it calls “the worst effects of drought in Australia”.
Headed by Elizabeth Nosworthy and current chief executive officer John Bradley the Commission looks at the recently completed Western Corridor Recycled Water Project - Australia's largest recycled water project, located in South East Queensland - as a key part of the South East Queensland Water Grid. The $2.5 billion project consisting of three advanced water treatment plants at Bundamba, Luggage Point and Gibson Island producing 232 million litres of purified recycled water daily, was constructed by the Queensland Government in response to population growth, climate change and severe drought.
With groundwater accounting for more than 30% of Australia’s total water consumption , the national Government’s recent announcement that it intends to spend over $8 million out of its National Groundwater Action Plan (NGAP) budget of $82 million to fund six new projects to improve groundwater management across Australia, is not surprising.
Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, said this investment by the country’s NGAP aims to build knowledge and understanding of groundwater and to guide groundwater management reforms agreed by states, territories and the Commonwealth under the 2004 National Water Initiative.
Senator Wong commented: “With groundwater accounting for more than 30 per cent of our total water consumption, this funding will help deliver on the Rudd Government's commitment to better measure and manage our precious water resources.
“This in turn will support our long-term national water plan, Water for the Future, which is investing in four key priorities: taking action on climate change, using water wisely, securing our water supplies, and supporting healthy rivers.”
Throughout the country groundwater is a resource that often extends across state boundaries, and required integrated management across Australia.
Projects to be funded include:
Western Australia- $2.46 million for a study of groundwater-dependent ecosystems in the State's mid-west region, where vulnerable wetlands are under development pressure from mining, horticultural and urban activities.
Victoria - $2.4 million project to assess sustainable groundwater yields as the basis for capping groundwater use under the new Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
Northern Territory -$1.12 million to assess major spring systems flowing from the Ooloo-Dolostone aquifer to the Daly River.
Northern Territory - $825,000 for a comprehensive stocktake of groundwater resources.
New South Wales -$960,000 for research into how changes in the groundwater quality in coastal aquifers can affect estuarine and marine ecosystems.
Tasmania -$637,000 to help develop a sustainable groundwater management framework in Tasmania, consistent with the National Water Initiative.
In January this year the Rudd Government announced a national consortium led by Flinders University to administer $30 million in Australian Government funding for a new $60 million National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training to help secure Australia's future water supplies.
The new centre, funded jointly by the Australian Research Council and the National Water Commission, will, according to Wong: “Undertake important work to help manage groundwater in a more sustainable way and assist state and territory governments deliver on reforms under the National Water Initiative to improve groundwater management and knowledge.”
Other partners involved in the new centre include the University of New South Wales, the University of Queensland, the Australian National University, CSIRO, Geoscience Australia, and the NSW and SA governments.
Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, said the centre would help tackle the shortage of skilled groundwater scientists and managers.
"It will train a new generation of scientists in advanced hydrogeological and related technologies, and improve our knowledge of groundwater connectivity, policy and management," Senator Carr said.