R4RD.org

22.08.2009 International News, Stay Informed! No Comments

Sydney Desal Plants Closed – $16 million a month wasted

By NSW political reporter Liz Foschia

The New South Wales Government has confirmed Sydney’s desalination plant will be shutting down at the end of the week, but has rejected suggestions the facility has been a waste of money.

The plant cost $2 billion to build and has completed a two-year proving period, but will lie idle from Sunday.

Finance Minister Greg Pearce says it could be around three years before the facility operates again.

“At the moment of course the dams are full, so it won’t go back on until they drop below 70 per cent, and then the desalination plant operates until they’re up to 80 per cent again,” Mr Pearce said.

“The fact that the desal plant will be turned off from the first of July will save Sydney Water customers $50 million a year, but we’ll still have the security if we ever or when we eventually need to turn the desalination plant back on again.

“We’re still paying $16 million a month and that pays the actual cost of building the desalination plant and the associated pipeline.”

Greens MP John Kaye says the desalination plant is a massive white elephant.

For full story, click here

 

 Sister Desal Organizations up and down the coast

http://desalalternatives.org/

http://www.desalresponsegroup.org/desal_socal/redondobeach.html

http://www.desalresponsegroup.org/desal_norcal/cambria.html

http://desalalternatives.org/

http://www.desalresponsegroup.org/ 

Why are HB Water Policies rated “Poor”?

The predictions of a looming “water supply crisis” only seem dire until we embrace the notion that the coordinated and cooperative efforts by many public agencies who have some authority over managing water, as well as our own efforts at home, can result in reform that integrates solutions to multiple problems.

Crisis drives reform – and World Water Day is an invaluable opportunity to illustrate what the reform looks like in our communities and how we end up with a sustainable economy, environment and better quality of life.

Click here for the full article

Debbie Cook’s assessment of water options for 2020

From The Greener Blue.com Blog

In Huntington Beach water costs $2.27 for a thousand gallons whether we use a lot or a little. There is no incentive to save water when it is so cheap. At the other extreme is Catalina Island. They have a small desalination facility that is used during droughts. They have a three tiered water structure whereby they pay $10 for a thousand gallons at the low end and over $40 for a thousand gallons at the high end.

There are any number of alternatives to ocean desalination including recycled water such as is being done in Orange County, capturing rainwater, conservation, gray water systems, and efficiency. They represent the low-hanging fruit that achieves multiple benefits not the least of which is to improve our regions resilience to energy and water price spikes.

While conservation makes the most sense, it is typically the lowest funding priority. The reason is simple, there is no incentive for a water agency to push conservation. MWD recently red-lined their conservation budget and approved $900 million to subsidize ocean desalinated water over the next 25 years.

If you are in the water business, you generate revenue by selling water. Any money allocated for conservation has to come from existing revenue. In addition, water conservation incurs costs to the agency to hire staff and implement programs. Agencies have fixed costs that have to be paid whether we use a lot of water or a little water. You may have noticed your water rates went up last year. It was because the region conserved water.

The solution to the region’s water challenge is to reduce water consumption 20% by 2020. It is absolutely achievable and can be done by adopting an appropriate rate structure that (1) provides financial stability to the agency to cover their fixed costs, (2) provides a basic needs allocation at a rate affordable to all, (3) assures funding for conservation initiatives, and (4) discourages waste. It is not a new idea but most cities find it easier to adopt expensive technical fixes rather than suggest that perhaps our behavior is inappropriate for the region in which we live.

For the complete article, please click here

write your sentence her