DESALINATION PLANT

In reply to the Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (9 November 2010).

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises): The Minister for Water has been advised that:

1. The Adelaide Desalination Project (ADP) has been designed with a range of treatment barriers and controls to ensure the plant will produce safe drinking water.

Monitoring of water quality adjacent to the ADP intake has been undertaken as part of investigations for the plant. This monitoring has shown that E.coli is rarely detected, and on the rare occasion it is detected, the concentrations are very low.

To further ensure the plant produces safe drinking water, the ADP has many barriers to remove potentially harmful pathogens, including an ultra-filtration (membrane-based) pre-filtration system followed by 2 stages of reverse osmosis membranes. In addition, the ADP also incorporates 2 separate stages of chlorine disinfection. This is followed by further chlorine disinfection, after blending, at the Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant.

The risk of E.coli or other pathogens entering the drinking water system via the ADP is extremely low.

SA Health has assessed the ADP in accordance with the Framework for Drinking Water Quality Management which forms part of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and accepts that the microbiological quality of seawater at and around Port Stanvac is significantly better than that generally from natural watercourses.

SA Health has advised that it is comfortable with the arrangements and controls in place to ensure the ADP will produce safe drinking water for metropolitan Adelaide.

2. The Government is not considering moving either the ADP intake or the Christies Beach Waste Water Treatment Plant outfall.