The Gold Coast Desalination Project - the desalination project process

The Project

GCD Alliance

The Process
Fact Sheets

Project Newsletters

Fact vs Fiction

The Project

The Gold Coast Desalination Project, originally initiated by Gold Coast City Council and now owned by Sure Smart Water (whose sole shareholder is the Queensland Government), is the first large scale water desalination plant on Australia’s eastern seaboard.

Located at Tugun on a six hectare former landfill site, when fully operational the facility will supply 125 mega litres a day of pure drinking water to South East Queensland, one of Australia’s worst drought affected regions. The facility will be a vital element in the State Government’s new $9 billion SEQ Water Grid, Gold Coast City Council’s Waterfutures Strategy and the State Government’s South East Queensland Regional Drought Strategy Contingency Supply Plan.

The GCD Alliance (an alliance of leading companies appointed to deliver the project and the facility owner) will set a construction record by finalising the complex project by November 2008.

For further information please visit: http://www.infrastructure.qld.gov.au/
http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/

The GCD Alliance

The plant is being delivered by the GCD Alliance (John Holland, Veolia Water Sinclair Knight Merz, Cardno and the facility owner). The Alliance will set a construction record by completing the complex project by November 2008.

The Process

Water will be drawn through a gravity fed riser, 1.4 kms out to sea and delivered to the facility by a 3.4m wide, 70m deep intake tunnel. The water will be pre-treated in settlement tanks and then passed through a series of reverse osmosis filters. Following further treatment, the water will be delivered to the new SEQ Water Grid via a new pipeline currently under construction.

The unused seawater (about 50%), containing dissolved salts and minerals, will be returned to the ocean via an outlet tunnel, 1. 2 kilometres out to sea and dispersed in water approximately 20 metres deep.

The salty water will be released under pressure through a 1 metre diameter pipeline containing 8 diffuser heads. Slightly heavier than seawater, the salty water will spray upwards for about 6 metres and disperse as it falls and mixes with the surrounding seawater over an area of about 120 metres by 220 metres (the ‘mixing zone’).

Unlike many desalination plants around the world that have to operate in shallow water and/or without strong tidal activity, the Gold Coast Desalination site has the added benefit of deep water and strong tidal currents, ensuring outfall is quickly dispersed in the ocean.

If you are keen to learn more about the Gold Coast Desalination Project, a series of project sheets are available for download including;

Project Fact Sheets

Project Newsletters

Fact Vs. Fiction

Issue Response
The desalination plant will emit large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions
There will be very little greenhouse gas emitted from the desalination plant. A commitment has been made to offset greenhouse gas emissions generated by power at the source when assessing future power purchase agreements for the plant.
Salt water discharged from the marine outlet tunnel will kill all the marine life in the area.
Extensive research indicates that salt water dispersed from the marine outlet tunnel will have negligible impact on marine life.
The extent of the ‘mixing zone’ (the area where the saline levels are higher than background salt levels) will only be restricted to an area of 120 by 220 metres Deep water and strong tidal currents will also ensure rapid dispersion of the salty water that is returned to the ocean.
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) studies on the project have not been conducted.
The Queensland Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed an Environmentally Relevant Activity (ERA) report, summarising material from over 40 environmental impact assessments undertaken on each aspect of the project (this is a study very similar to an Environmental Impact Statement) (EIS). As this research was undertaken, a formal EIS was not required under existing legislation (local, State and Commonwealth).
The (ERA) report can be accessed at: www.goldcoastwater.com.au/desalination
The Desalination Plant will be powered by nuclear power.
The plant will not be powered by nuclear power.
The community has not been consulted regarding the project.
An extensive community engagement process was conducted that involved every aspect of the project - from the feasibility study phase through to construction. Scores of presentations have been given to the community and fact sheets, project newsletters and website information has been produced. Furthermore, Community Reference Group (CRG) which includes a range of community interest groups, is held monthly. A new GCDA Project Information Centre located at Boyd Street Tugun, opened in April 2007.
We don’t need desalination.
The major benefit of desalination is that it can provide high quality drinking water for consumption even during severe drought. As an additional water source it makes our overall supply more diverse and less vulnerable to interruption - and brings more water into the system for recycling purposes.