We have the water, but do we have the will? - 8 June 2006

A desalination plant is unnecessary to boost Sydney’s stricken water supply, an inquiry into a sustainable water supply tabled in NSW parliament today has found.

Greens Upper House MP and Chair of the inquiry, Ian Cohen, has called on the NSW Government to abandon its $43.1 million contingency plan for a desalination plant, announced in Tuesday’s budget, because there is plenty of water available if we recycle water that currently flows out to sea as waste water.

“For now a desalination plant, we are assured by the State Labor Government, is off the books. But the Budget announced millions in funding for a contingency plan for the plant.” Mr Cohen said.

“The government must take on the committee’s recommendation that the desalination plant be removed from the critical infrastructure status. This would mean any future plans for a desalination plant would be scrutinised in a full Environmental Impact Statement.”

Mr Cohen said a range of measures including water recycling and individual metering of apartments in high rise buildings would mean there would be plenty of water available to meet Sydney’s growing needs.

“At Rouse Hill, a state of the art recycling system produces water that costs a mere 29 cents a kilolitre – one-sixth of the price of standard water that comes from our depleted dams. The recycled water is fed into homes to be exclusively used for toilet flushing and other uses like watering the garden. Sydney Olympic Park is another stand-out example of efficient water re-use.

“High rises only have to pay the standard water rate, leaving little incentive to save water. New metering technologies mean that soon high-rise apartment buildings will be able to have individual units measured for their water usage, and then be charged for their use. I call on the Iemma Government to make such metering compulsory and to keep the highly effective BASIX scheme to see all new apartment buildings include water efficiency measures.

“Sydney Water is a dinosaur in terms of its vision and bureaucracy and needs major reform if this state has any hope of achieving a truly sustainable water supply. More imaginative solutions to Sydney’s water shortage need to take priority – rather than an energy guzzling desalination plant that could have serious ramifications for NSW greenhouse emissions targets, not to mention the local environment.” Mr Cohen said.