Adelaide’s desalination plant will be fired up over summer to aid drought-stricken River Murray
After years of minimal use, SA’s $2.2 billion desalination plant will be activated under a new deal with Canberra to provide more water for the River Murray.
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South Australia’s “virtually unused” $2.2 billion desalination plant will be fired up to help drought-relief efforts across the country after the State Government struck a deal with Canberra.
The Federal Government will fund the Adelaide desal plant to produce an initial 40 gigalitres to service the city and surrounding areas, with a review in April that could see another 60GL produced.
This would offset the water SA currently takes from the River Murray and enable the release of an equivalent amount of water for struggling farmers.
Consumer water bills should not go up as the Federal Government will pay SA nearly $100 million as part of the deal.
The 100GL will be used to grow up to 120,000 tonnes of fodder, as well as silage and pasture to secure supplies.
“I’d like to thank the Marshall Government for their generosity on this issue,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
SA has committed to supply an initial 40GL and this will be reviewed in April. If that review recommends desal production continues, which is expected, the rest of the water will likely be forthcoming.
If not, there is a contingency plan to use water from the Snowy scheme.
On top of this, the Federal Government has given $10 million to the Marshall Government for its own drought mitigation and support measures.
Last month the Sunday Mail revealed a report into whether South Australia’s $2.2 billion desalination plant could help save the drought-stressed River Murray was seven months overdue.
Premier Steven Marshall said at a time of national urgency, South Australia was proud to stand with and support farmers.
“South Australia survived some of the most extreme effects of the Millennium Drought and fully understand the terrible impacts that drought has on farmers, families, regional communities and the nation,” Mr Marshall said.
“We are prepared to provide support, but we will not jeopardise our own water security or do anything that increases costs to South Australians.”
Environment and Water Minister David Speirs said there are farmers across the country crying out for help to keep livestock alive and ultimately feed Australian families.
“Given our desalination plant sits virtually unused, it’s time to increase its production so water is made available to drought-affected farmers across the nation,” he said.
“We have already used the Adelaide Desalination Plant to increase the water available to holders of South Australian River Murray allocations by eight percentage points and we are now further extending these benefits to a broader range of farmers in this time of national need.”
State Opposition environment spokeswoman Susan Close said South Australians would need a guarantee the state would be no worse off as a result of the deal.
“We need a guarantee South Australian households won’t pay higher water bills,” she said.
“South Australians also need a guarantee we won’t be exposed to water restrictions in the event of a hot summer.”
Federal Labor Senator Don Farrell said it was disappointing the desal plant, which has the capacity to produce 100GL of water a year, had to be turned on.
But he said it was an endorsement of the Rudd-Gillard decision not only to support the 50GL desal plant, but to double it.
“It’s obviously going to come in very handy in the circumstances we find ourselves in,” he said.
Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick, who has shown a long-term interest in the Murray Darling said he supported the deal with caveats.
“Firstly, the government must be completely transparent about where this taxpayer-funded water goes,” he said.
“Secondly... the announced redirection of water to farmers must not be a permanent solution at the expense of the river.”
Greens environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young raised similar concerns.
“South Australians are being taken for mugs, as the Federal and SA Governments cut a deal to reduce water flowing into the Lower Murray,” she said.
“Cutting SA’s river water allocation in favour of turning on the desalination plant is short-term thinking and I worry SA will be left carrying the can, with less water flowing downstream, higher water prices for Adelaide, and no political will to tackle upstream greed and over-allocation.”