NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE: ADELAIDE DESALINATION PLANT FACT FINDING VISIT

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (16:15): I move:

That the report of the committee, on Adelaide Desalination Plant Fact Finding Visit, be noted.

This report of the committee was a fact-finding visit to the Adelaide Desalination Plant on Friday 8 July. Unfortunately I was not there, but you, Mr President, and I had the pleasure of visiting the plant last Friday. The purpose of the fact-finding visit to the plant was to learn more about Adelaide's water supply, as well as the technology of desalination.

The issue of desalination is relevant to the committee's inquiry into the Murray-Darling Basin, in as much as the plant reduces Adelaide's dependency on the River Murray for critical human needs, especially in times of drought. It is easy to forget how desperate things got towards the end of the millennium drought. In 2007 SA Water was preparing contingency plans to supply bottled or trucked water to Adelaide households in the event that reservoirs dried up and the river become undrinkable.

Professor Tim Flannery was quoted in October 2007 as saying there was a significant risk of a water crisis in Adelaide within the next six to 12 months because of the salinity and toxic algal blooms in the River Murray. Professor Mike Young from the Adelaide University and members of the Wentworth Group said that the situation in South Australia was much worse than many people realised, with SA Water duty bound to develop contingency plans for the worst conceivable event. Had the drought not broken when it did two years ago, those contingency plans may well have been implemented. It would not have been a good look: an affluent city in a world-class country handing out bottled water to its residents, industries closing down, garden watering banned, no showers or toilet flushing, and so on.

This is why the desalination plant was included in the Water for Good program in 2007 and why it was accelerated and doubled in size, giving it national infrastructure status. The reality is that the drought can return at any time and, with the prospect of climate change, future droughts could be much worst than in 2007. Water experts were unanimous in 2007 that Adelaide needed a water source independent of rainfall as a back-up.

Nevertheless, environmental concerns that have been raised are not trivial and need to be addressed. The EPA licence to operate must be strictly enforced. SA Water needs to monitor the plant's impact on salinity and biodiversity in Gulf St Vincent very carefully. Members of the Natural Resources Committee were heartened to hear recently that new research is being undertaken into the impact of hypersaline water on phytoplankton by the Flinders University, and this research will continue after the desalination plant becomes fully operational.

I wish to thank all those who gave their time to assist the committee with this tour and report, and I commend the presiding member, the Hon. Steph Key, and members of the committee—Mr Geoff Brock MP, the Hon. Robert Brokenshire MLC, the Hon. John Dawkins MLC, Mrs Robyn Geraghty MP, Mr Lee Odenwalder MP, Mr Don Pegler MP, and Mr Dan van Holst Pellekaan MP, as well as former committee members the Hons Russell Wortley and Paul Holloway—for their contributions. All members of the committee have worked cooperatively on this report. Finally, I thank the committee staff for their assistance. I commend this report to the house.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins.