| DEUS Report
on the Viability and Cost Effectiveness of Desalination |
15
March 2007
The Water Directorate recently obtained
a copy of the report, Viability and Cost Effectiveness
of Desalination Report No: DCO5201 prepared for the Department
of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability by the Department
of Commerce in June 2006.
This
report examines various options for providing "adequate,
safe and secure water supplies through lenthy drought periods"
in Australia, including the introduction of desalination to
supplement the water supply in the coastal areas of NSW.
The
report focuses on the major water systems in nine coastal
river basins including: Tweed, Richmond-Brunswick, Clarence,
Bellinger-Nambucca, Macleay, Hastings, Manning, Hunter and
the Central Coast.
It
concludes that whilst desalination technology is maturing
and becoming more cost efficient, "in the short term
at least, further development of water efficiency, water recycling
return flows and water source upgrades are likely to be more
cost effective than desalination for most NSW coast water
supply schemes".
A
copy of the report can be obtained from the Department of
Commerce and is considered essential reading for our member
councils up and down the coast of NSW.
For
more information contact:
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