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Gold Coast Desalination VisitA second desalination plant visit has provided more information for Bass Coast. By Bass Coast Shire Council - 22nd October 2007 - Back to News Last week representatives from Bass Coast Shire Council and the Your Water Your Say action group visited the Tugun Desalination plant near Coolangatta.
The desalination plant is currently under construction and should be operational by early 2009. During their visit, the group met with Gold Coast City Council, GCD Alliance( the project builder) and Sure Smart Water, who will own and manage the plant.
Council’s Director of Corporate Services, Danny Luna, was part of the team who made the trip to Queensland.
"The trip was well worth while," said Mr Luna.
"We had the opportunity to view the plant under construction and speak at length with organisations involved in the project.
"Seeing first hand, the planning, construction and how the Gold Coast City Council resolved community issues has been very valuable," Mr Luna continued.
"This will help us to deal with the issues surrounding the desalination plant proposed for Wonthaggi."
Mr Luna said that Victoria could certainly learn from the way Queensland engaged the community in the project.
"Gold Coast City Council has been very successful in incorporating the community and its concerns, into the planning of the project," said Mr Luna.
"Council took the initiative to form a community reference group that provides the Council, Government and project managers with information on the community’s concerns, comments or questions.
"The group meets monthly and has representatives from the community, local organisations and councillors," informed Mr Luna.
"Creating the group has been a positive step in identifying community issues and accommodating them where possible."
Mr Luna said that while there were lessons to be learned from the Queensland experience, there were a number of differences to the situation currently facing Bass Coast.
"This plant is located next to the airport, so it is a highly urbanised and industrialised area," said Mr Luna.
"The means the impact of the plant is very different to the likely impact of a desalination plant being built on rural land, right next to the coast.
Another significant difference, according to Mr Luna is the size of the plant and the way it will be managed.
"For a start, the plant they are building on the Gold Coast is much smaller than the one proposed for Victoria," explained Mr Luna.
"The Tugun plant will produce 125 mega litres of water per day compared to 500 mega litres at Wonthaggi.
"The plant is also a partnership between the Gold Coast City Council and the Queensland Government, which is very different to the Public Private Partnership model that is proposed for Victoria."
The Queensland desalination plant came about when the Gold Coast City Council, who is also the Gold Coast Water Authority, identified a strong need to source an alternative water supply. Recently the Gold Coast has faced critical water levels with Stage 5 restrictions. There is a high probability they will run out of water by 2008.
Council is planning one more research tour, set to take place at the beginning of November. A team consisting of representatives from Bass Coast Shire Council and the Your Water Your Say action group will investigate the desalination plant currently operating in Kwinana, Western Australia.
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: news@gippsland.com
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