ADELAIDE WATER DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

Mr PICCOLO (Light) (14:11): Will the Minister for Water update the house on the project to connect the northern and southern parts of Adelaide's water distribution network?

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water) (14:11): I thank the honourable member for his question and, in doing so, also congratulate him on his return here and the absolutely outstanding marginal seat campaign that he ran at the most recent election.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Yes, I am still here. If you had put in more work maybe I mightn't be. Madam Speaker, the house will be aware that the Adelaide desalination plant is due to deliver its first water by the end of December this year. As part of ensuring Adelaide's future water security we have also been working on options to ensure flexibility within the Adelaide distribution network, including the capability of moving larger amounts of water from south to north.

This will enable us to maximise the use of our water resources, including water from the Adelaide desalination plant when it reaches its full 100 gigalitre capacity. After significant investigations into the design options, SA Water now has a preferred option for delivery of the $403 million north-south interconnection system project. While further design work is to be done over the coming months, we now know that the preferred option will include a range of system upgrades in the metropolitan area—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: What do we call them?

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: Pynesses.

The Hon. P. CAICA: I can hear the squeaking voices of the pynesses from the back seats, Madam Speaker. These, of course, will include a range of system upgrades in the metropolitan area. These include the upgrade of some existing pump stations and the construction of some new booster pumping stations at locations that include Gilberton and one on the existing SA Water land at Glenelg North.

In addition, existing underground pipelines will be upgraded and some new sections of pipeline will be constructed in various locations to the east, west and north of Adelaide city, and pressure regulating valves will be installed to control water pressure throughout the system. This means that, with all of the features of the preferred option in place and the Adelaide desalination plant with the ability to operate at full capacity in 2012, we will have the ability to provide the full 100 gigalitres of desalinated water per year to SA Water customers connected to Adelaide's southern and northern supply networks.

The preliminary investigations undertaken by SA Water have identified that the preferred option will improve the flexibility of the supply system, further enhancing the government's plans for water security through diversity.

The feasibility design and assessment process undertaken by SA Water has been an integral part of the preliminary works which the government announced last year. Selection of the preferred option took into consideration factors that included cost, operational service, water quality, existing assets, environment, planning, social impacts and infrastructure delivery.

The preliminary investigations confirm that the construction of a single large diameter pipeline direct from Happy Valley to Hope Valley did not represent the best solution. SA Water—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Well, we will get things right, Vickie.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: I know. Thank you. I acknowledge that the member for Bragg is pleased with this particular project, and that is an excellent thing.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Yes, she's hard to please, but on this one Vickie's very pleased. SA Water will begin this week to engage local councils, industry and relevant members of the community on the preferred option. This will assist the government in managing impacts for residents, businesses and commuters during the construction period. In addition, ongoing liaison and communication will occur with stakeholders throughout the project's design and construction phase.

Detailed design work on the north-south interconnection system project will continue through to the end of September this year. SA Water anticipates the construction work on the preferred option will begin later this year, with desalinated water set to be supplied initially to the south of Adelaide in 2010 and to the north as soon as 2012. This is a very important project with respect to securing and being able to ensure Adelaide's secure water supplies.