What is desalination and why do we need it? Read More
What is desalination and why do we need it?
Desalination turns seawater into drinking water. Many countries are using desalination as a way of creating a more reliable water supply that doesn’t depend on rain. Drinking water produced by the desalination plant is monitored and tested in the same way as water from a filtration plant. Water from the desalination plant follows the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
How does desalination work?
The wind-powered desalination plant uses reverse osmosis technology to extract freshwater from the seawater. The plant contains over 36,000 reverse osmosis membranes. These membranes block particles and salts, so only freshwater can pass through. The remaining seawater is returned to the ocean.
Where is the desalination plant and how was it developed?
The desalination plant is located on the coast at Kurnell in a 45 hectare site which includes a 15 hectare environmental conservation area. The NSW Government agreed to start building the desalination plant when total dam levels reached 34%. The plant supplies drinking water to about 1.5 million people, as part or all of their water supply.
How is the desalination plant powered?
Sydney’s desalination plant uses 100% renewable energy from a specially built 67-turbine wind farm at Bungendore in NSW. The yearly generation capacity of the wind farm is greater than the yearly energy use at the desalination plant. Built and owned by Infigen Energy and known as the Capital wind farm, it has increased the supply of wind energy in NSW by over 700%.
What has Sydney Water done to protect the environment around the desalination plant?
An important part of the project was to keep any environmental impacts – both on land and in the water – to a minimum. To support this, Sydney Water has in place one of the most stringent marine environment monitoring programs of its kind. We have monitored the marine environment for three years before construction and will monitor for three more years after commissioning. This means we can detect and respond to any changes.
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Category: Desalination, Expert Opinion, News
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