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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-11-09 Daily Xml
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DESALINATION PLANT

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:18): My question is for the minister for water security. Has the government received any advice on the possible health risks associated with microorganisms from the Christies Beach sewage treatment plant contaminating the water supply to the Port Stanvac desalination plant?

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water) (15:18): I thank the honourable member for his question and—

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: He can read.

The Hon. P. CAICA: Yes, he can read the paper. I would also say—and I have let it go for a long time—for the benefit of the honourable member that we no longer have a minister for water security; I am the Minister for Water. I am not being—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: No, because we have secured our water supplies. I have let it go for a long time, so I am just helping out. I could sit down here and say there is no minister for water security. It was in the paper this morning. I am pretty sure that the honourable member would have listened to the wireless this morning; if he did not, I will recap some of the points that were made.

There has been extensive seawater modelling. It was part of the Adelaide desalination plant environmental impact statement. Certainly, we know that E. coli and coli forms occur in raw water sources, including sea water. SA Water, I am told, has been taking water samples for more than two years, and any potential contaminants which reach the desalination plant outfall pipeline are removed, and will be removed, as part of the water treatment process.

I am also advised that water taken into the desalination plant through the intake pipeline goes through an extensive treatment process. It is pre-treated—it will be pre-treated—disinfected at the plant and also disinfected at Happy Valley before it enters the mains water network. I would also say that in my job I get lots of files about some of the circumstances that relate to our water. I think sometimes we do not recognise the outstanding work that goes into making sure that we have not just adequate but also safe drinking supplies, the standard of which, quite frankly, is probably not equalled anywhere else in the world.

It is always fine to have a go and throw grenades from time to time, but I think sometimes we should reflect on what we do well. That is not to suggest that, in all things that we do, we cannot do better; but we can sometimes sit back and say that we do do things very well. I am very proud of the fact that here in South Australia we have water supplies that are safe, and continue to be safe, for humans on all occasions.

Interestingly, during the summer months when it will be operating, treated waste water from the Christies Beach plant is rarely taken out and put into the ocean. Of course, that is oversubscribed at that time of the year for the purposes of irrigation and we know, through the projects that are occurring down in the south, that we will ensure that even less goes out during winter time because we will store it and use it during summer when there is an oversubscription, as there is now. It is very similar to what I was talking about with my friend the Minister for Health last night.

So, during the winter months, some treated waste water is discharged: however, SA Water is undertaking a project, as I mentioned, that will store more waste water in that region. When fully operational, SA Water will be running the Adelaide desalination plant at lower levels during the winter months—and that makes sense, because that is when we will be able to use our more traditional water supplies that are, at that time of the year, more reliable.

For the benefit of the deputy leader, I am also advised that the intake pipeline that brings the water into the Adelaide desalination plant is approximately 1,400 metres long, and the outfall pipeline that discharges brine from the treatment process is approximately 1,100 metres long. The distance between these two pipelines is more than 400 metres, and the distance between the intake pipeline at the desalination plant and the outfall pipeline at the Christies Beach wastewater treatment plant is approximately three kilometres.

There is a significant difference—and I am not being disrespectful to our friends in metropolitan Sydney—because we know that they have a different attitude or, certainly, different circumstances that relate to the level of E. coli that goes out into the water. The mullet over there are actually blind mullet. However, I should not be flippant because, surely, that is going to get recorded somewhere and I will be in more strife than Brick Bradford for saying that. I also understand that they are working very diligently to make sure that does not occur in the future and what has occurred in the past is rectified. I congratulate them on that. Specifically, in answer to the question that was asked: yes, I have received advice.

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