As a result of the water supply crisis during the severe
1997–2009 drought State governments around
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
began building
desalination plants
Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture. Saltwa ...
that purify seawater using
reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic ...
technology. Many of these plants have included in their overall cost the building of renewable energy sources such as wind farms.
Australia's first working desalination plant was the
Perth Seawater Desalination Plant
The Perth Seawater Desalination Plant, located in Naval Base, south of Perth, Western Australia, turns seawater from Cockburn Sound into nearly 140 megalitres of drinking water per day, supplying the Perth metropolitan area.
The salt water reve ...
that was completed in November 2006. A second plant on the Gold Coast began operations in February 2009. The
Kurnell Desalination Plant in Sydney was opened on 28 January 2010.
List of desalination plants
Desalination plants in use
Smaller desalination plants
Secondary desalination plants, citations
[G. Crisp and E.A. Swinton, Desalination in Australia: A review, Water 35(2) (2008) 94.][Evans, G. “Sydney Desalination.” Water-technology. 26 August 2008. Web. 28 April 2010. ][Desal plant gets final approval.” WAtoday. 24 June 2009. Web. 1 May 2010 ][Desalination – Project Information.” SA Water. Government of South Australia. n.d. Web. 1 May 2010. ][Gipson, D. “Take Bligh’s promises on Bribie Island desalination plan with grain of salt.” LNP. 19 April 2010. Web. 29 April 2010. ][Lucas, P. “Study rules out two future desalination plant sites.” Queensland Government. 23 February 2009. Web. 30 April 2010. ]Industries - Resorts
''Ausmos'' Retrieved 2014-01-09.
Desalination plants in development or cancelled
See also
*Energy in Australia
Energy in Australia is the production in Australia of energy and electricity, for consumption or export. Energy policy of Australia describes the politics of Australia as it relates to energy.
Australia is a net energy exporter, and was th ...
*Seawater desalination in Australia
Australia is the driest habitable continent on Earth and its installed desalination capacity has been increasing. Until a few decades ago, Australia met its demands for water by drawing freshwater from dams and water catchments. As a result of ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desalination plants in Australia
Lists of buildings and structures in Australia