Was reading todays SMH and it looks as though Yemma is still pushing for a desalination plant which would probably end up at Kurnell. Would this stuff up kiteboarding on that side of the bay and make the area more polluted? Whats the story? Could have me voting for the other mob

I think the problem with pollution is that it takes a lot of energy to boil the water. This energy primarily comes from coal fired power plants.

Think about conservation of energy, you burn coal to boil water, use the water to turn a turbine to create electricity. You then use the same electricity to boil water again.

There is a lot of lost energy in that process.

http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/nsw/content/2006/s1850166.htm
"Bottled Electricity"

I heard that too - at least the sharks won't need to put salt on us!

On the plus side - riding with smaller boards will be easier because of the increased density of the extra salty water. If the drought lasts long enough we should be able to kite barefoot.


Seriously - I think the localalised increase in salt levels would be dilluted quickly and probably have negligible effect on the environment. The quantities of water sound big but are tiny compared to the natural flows in the ocean.

I think you'll find they'd want to run the outlet pipe straight to the ocean. Thats what I'd do. At a minimum the country should be using recycled water for crop irrigation and industry.

The plant is on the coast near the road to Voodoo, and will pick up and return water from near where the sewerage outfall is so pretty soon everyone will be drinking Mr Wandaful's urine.
The only effect on the Bay will be when they run pipes across from near the wharf to Kyeema.

i prefer the desal to the poo water, imo
some (sorry, lots of) wind turbines would reduce the green house gases for the power requirements - see perth desal

rain water tank would help

Although much of the following isn't relevant to kitesurfing, it may add to the debate about desalination versus reprocessed effluent.

The original decision to locate a desalination plant at Kurnell was made with the expectation that it could be powered by the unwanted gases that currently go up the stack at the nearby refinery. It's a shame that negotiations broke down between the Government of the time and Caltex Refinery.....and that this fact has been omitted from the current debate. Using this endless energy source would have been a 'win-win' option...and the public should be given the opportunity to pressure the State Government into re-entering negotiations with Caltex so as to make this happen. After all, the major objection to desalination is not so much the location of the plant, but its heavy usage of non-renewable energy.

There are conflicting opinions about the potential hazards related to the return of unprocessed saltwater back to the ocean....which will also carry with it the salt extracted from the desalinated water, along with a number of other chemicals used in the desalination process. There is concern that these discharges may affect undersea vegetation and sealife near the outfall. We have a sad trackrecord of uncaringly discharging stuff into the ocean. Some years ago, the existing sewer outfalls were extended further out to sea, only so we couldn't SEE the damage we were doing. The damage continues, however beyond eyesight. Is it too much to hope that in the process of addressing our water shortage, the Government may consider how to reduce the damage we're doing to our coastal waters?

In terms of whether the desalination plant should or should not be located at Kurnell if it does NOT utilise the refinery waste gases is debatable, but on totally different grounds.
Land at Kurnell is being opened up for large-scale industrial purposes, so it is inevitable that traffic will increase, whether to serve a raft of small businesses or a lesser number of small businesses plus the workforce required to operate one large desalination plant. In that sense, Kurnell's fate is sealed....irrespective of whether a desal plant is built at Kurnell, it's going to have to cope with more traffic and a larger workforce coming into and leaving the area on a daily basis.

Despite its significance to Australia's new history, Kurnell has never enjoyed the prominence, respect and care it deserves.

But there's more to the Kurnell story than just the desalination plant. There's a huge sewage plant adjacent to the road leading into Kurnell...it's out of sight, but not out of smelling range. It stinks.

If Debnam has 'the right solution', i.e. to reprocess effluent, one could imagine that were this plant to process its effluent to a high enough standard, then its reprocessed water could flow in a parallel pipeline alongside the desal pipe across the bay so as to find its way to Prospect Dam.

But maybe that's just too damn clever!

The latest initiative to induce individual households to install stormwater tanks is well-meaning, but hardly an adequate solution. A tank of 2,300 litres is just sufficient to sustain my weekly habit of washing two cars!!!

You have to see the encouragement of housetanks for what it really is: an attempt by Government to move the cost from the Government to individual property owners:
If my tank was sufficiently large, i.e. in excess of 10,000 litres, I could possibly utilise the collected stormwater in it to flush toilets etc, however the cost of replumbing would be horrendous.....and the accumulated cost PER HOUSEHOLD to undertake these modifications would far exceed the total cost of building the desal plant, modifying the current sewage treatment plants to produce potable water, running new pipes AND building additional dams. So I regard the 'push' to encourage individual households to install tanks as merely cosmetic. It cannot have a significant impact on the total water picture.

Irrespective of the positions adopted by the major political parties, it is inevitable that any Government will HAVE to undertake ALL of the above initiatives.

I think we have to accept that both desalinated water AND reprocessed effluent will need to be utilised to cope with Sydney's growing water needs.

Sorry this is an silly debate no desal just recycle and just a quick note " this planet has been hear for quite a while and so has the water so any water you see has been through someone or something before it ends up in your glass, on your dishes, out of your shower and the list goes on, fact there is no such thing as new water its been here aslong as the planet