Reporting in most media and NEWS outlets on desalination plants is just disgraceful.
The TRUTH is desalination plants will be required when dams levels are critically low and we all have to drink recycled sewage.
Build more dams? We do not use existing water well enough to funds more dams. (Many thanks to Kerry Packer telling us Government does not spend out money wisely enough)
Example: Swanbank Power station used Brisbane Drinking water from Wivenhoe dams for years until recently when recycled was pumped top Swanbank power station. Brisbane people always wonder why a good rains never filled Wivenhoe Dam? Drinking water was pumped to Swanbank PowerStation's huge ponds to cool turbines.
So we need to use our fresh water wisely and understand our drinking water is just that DRINKING WATER and not water that should be used for industry.
Industry must understand there is a huge cost for drinking water and a lower cost for recycled water.
Government must understand it is THEIR JOB to get new infrastructure to industry to supply industry with recycled water and it is industry's job to buy that cheaper water.
Now some RICH kid is going to come along and say it is NOT GOVERNMENT position to run business. Let ME run it for you or better still SELL me the rights.
Tell em to bugger off, it's a Nationalised Deal and in the national security that prices remain low through rationalisation NOT DEREGULATION (another word for higher prices)
Drinking Water supply or any water supply must not be privatised, full stop.
Ok and while we are at it, putting recycled water into the drinking water is a no brainer.
Imagine a terrorist coming into a capital city, putting a handful of anthrax down the dunny and then catching the next plane out of the country? He's just containated an entire dam that supply's an Australian capital city.
Did you know that Anthrax is undetectable? That's right, there is no know test to detect anthrax. You can run processed effluent through as many tests as you wish, the result will be Anthrax will be undetected and shall pass through to our dams.
Sorry, back to water.
When supplies become low (less than 15%), it is the coastal areas that suffer most. Water pressures are reduced in pipes and water is heavily bombed with chemicals as pump drag sediments from dams to get the last remaining drops.
Desalination plants become very useful at that point and supply water directly to the worst hit areas.
Sure, desal water is expensive so run plants on 5% capacity year round use to keep them in top shape and to keep costs low.
Ramp them up to 100% when water is scarce. When water is scarce, nobody is going to argue about the cost of water when there is NONE.
I have never heard anyone comment on the cost of water when there is NONE? Isn't that a media job. Jesus Christ, they missed an opportunity to scare us.
$2bil cost for a desalination plant is a small cost for future investment.
Now all that is quite logical however after scrutiny by media, the real story has been mangled beyond belief. by
Steve Wotherspoon |
