Kurnell Desalination Plant
Encyclopedia
The Sydney Desalination Plant is a drinking water supply project operated by Veolia Water Australia Pty Ltd on behalf of Sydney Water
, Sydney's State-owned water supply corporation. It is located in the Kurnell
industrial estate area, in Sydney's southern suburbs. The desalination
plant itself was built by the Blue Water Joint Venture, under contract to Sydney Water. The Blue Water Joint Venture comprised the plant constructor, John Holland Pty Ltd, and the operator, Veolia Water Australia Pty Ltd.
The plant uses reverse osmosis
filtration membranes to remove salt from seawater and is powered using 100 percent renewable energy. The renewable energy is supplied to the national power grid from the Capital Wind Farm
at Bungendore, NSW
.
The Kurnell plant is the third major desalination plant built in Australia (after Kwinana
in Perth which was completed in 2006 and Tugun
on the Gold Coast
which was completed in 2009). The plant is currently the largest operational desalination plant in Australia, however Victoria's Wonthaggi desalination plant (due to be completed in 2012), will be larger.
In response to these problems, the NSW Government's 2006 Metropolitan Water Plan identified desalination as a way of securing Sydney's water supply needs in the case of a severe, prolonged drought:
When operating at full capacity, the Sydney desalination plant will supply up to 15% of the drinking water supply to Sydney, the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains. It was the largest water supply project for Sydney, Australia's biggest city, since Warragamba Dam
was opened in 1960 by the Sydney Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board
. The desalination project was announced in February 2007, when Sydney dam levels dropped to 33.8% of total storage (just 3.8% higher than the adaptive trigger of "about 30% of dam storage levels" foreshadowed in the 2006 Metropolitan Water Plan), the lowest level reached since the drought that preceded the opening of Warragamba, in the 1940s and 1950s.
Other options to supplement Sydney's water supply were ruled out – a new dam was ruled out due to land availability and environmental reasons, drinking recycled waste water and stormwater was ruled out due to lack of community acceptance in Sydney, and rainwater tanks, although encouraged, would not supply enough reliable, potable water, to secure the water supply in times of drought and climate change.
At Erskineville, the drinking water delivered via the pipeline from Kurnell is delivered into the large City Water Tunnel connecting Potts Hill Reservoir, in western Sydney, to the Waterloo Pumping Station, in eastern Sydney. Off-take pipes along the length of the City Water Tunnel mean that, depending on demand, desalinated water will be fed into the drinking water supply throughout much of metropolitan Sydney. In the process, the desalination plant-supplied water will ease the drawdown on water from the city's surface storages including Warragamba Dam.
Both the tunnels to the sea and the pipeline to the water supply have been built to the ultimate capacity of 500 megalitres per day, so if the plant is ever expanded, the supporting infrastructure is already in place.
1.5 million Sydney residents south of Sydney Harbour and as far west as Bankstown are the direct consumers of the desalinated water. The plant itself has its own water treatment facilities which means that all water entering the pipeline will be clean and potable.
According to the local council populations listed above, 1.5 million people have access to water from the desalination plant. The actual amount of people drinking the water would be less than this as some council areas are only partly in the zone covered by the plant.
at Bungendore was built for this purpose and has a nameplate capacity of 140 MW.
Sydney Water
Sydney Water is a New South Wales government owned corporation that provides drinking water, wastewater and some stormwater services to Sydney, Illawarra and the Blue Mountains, in Australia...
, Sydney's State-owned water supply corporation. It is located in the Kurnell
Kurnell, New South Wales
Kurnell is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kurnell is located south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire....
industrial estate area, in Sydney's southern suburbs. The desalination
Desalination
Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from saline water...
plant itself was built by the Blue Water Joint Venture, under contract to Sydney Water. The Blue Water Joint Venture comprised the plant constructor, John Holland Pty Ltd, and the operator, Veolia Water Australia Pty Ltd.
The plant uses reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis is a membrane technical filtration method that removes many types of large molecules and ions from solutions by applying pressure to the solution when it is on one side of a selective membrane. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and...
filtration membranes to remove salt from seawater and is powered using 100 percent renewable energy. The renewable energy is supplied to the national power grid from the Capital Wind Farm
Capital Wind Farm
The 140 megawatt Capital Wind Farm is located in New South Wales, around north east of Canberra, just southeast of Lake George and north of Bungendore...
at Bungendore, NSW
Bungendore, New South Wales
Bungendore is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Palerang Council. It is on the Kings Highway near Lake George, the Molonglo River Valley and the Australian Capital Territory border. It has become a major tourist centre in recent years, popular with visitors from...
.
The Kurnell plant is the third major desalination plant built in Australia (after Kwinana
Kwinana Desalination Plant
The Kwinana Desalination Plant, located south of Perth, Western Australia, turns seawater from Cockburn Sound into nearly 140 megalitres of drinking water per day, supplying the Perth metropolitan area....
in Perth which was completed in 2006 and Tugun
Gold Coast desalination project
The Gold Coast desalination project is a reverse osmosis, water desalination plant that supplies water to the Gold Coast and South East Queensland via the South East Queensland Water Grid, located in Tugun....
on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
which was completed in 2009). The plant is currently the largest operational desalination plant in Australia, however Victoria's Wonthaggi desalination plant (due to be completed in 2012), will be larger.
Decision to build
Sydney summers during the first decade of the 21st century have seen significant declines of dam storage levels. A state of drought in the Sydney catchment areas existed between March 2001 and at least January 2007. Except for 1998, inflows into Warragamba dam were below average from 1992 until 2006. The last time Sydney's dams were all 100% full was in 1998. Between January 2004 and July 2007, Sydney's available water storage dropped below 55%. Water supply levels reached their lowest recorded point on February 9-10 2007 of 33.8% In November 2009, water storage again dropped below 55%.In response to these problems, the NSW Government's 2006 Metropolitan Water Plan identified desalination as a way of securing Sydney's water supply needs in the case of a severe, prolonged drought:
When operating at full capacity, the Sydney desalination plant will supply up to 15% of the drinking water supply to Sydney, the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains. It was the largest water supply project for Sydney, Australia's biggest city, since Warragamba Dam
Warragamba Dam
Warragamba Dam is the primary water source for the Australian city of Sydney. It is approximately to the west of Sydney on the Warragamba River, a tributary of the Hawkesbury River, and impounds Lake Burragorang.- Overview :...
was opened in 1960 by the Sydney Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board
Sydney Water
Sydney Water is a New South Wales government owned corporation that provides drinking water, wastewater and some stormwater services to Sydney, Illawarra and the Blue Mountains, in Australia...
. The desalination project was announced in February 2007, when Sydney dam levels dropped to 33.8% of total storage (just 3.8% higher than the adaptive trigger of "about 30% of dam storage levels" foreshadowed in the 2006 Metropolitan Water Plan), the lowest level reached since the drought that preceded the opening of Warragamba, in the 1940s and 1950s.
Other options to supplement Sydney's water supply were ruled out – a new dam was ruled out due to land availability and environmental reasons, drinking recycled waste water and stormwater was ruled out due to lack of community acceptance in Sydney, and rainwater tanks, although encouraged, would not supply enough reliable, potable water, to secure the water supply in times of drought and climate change.
Infrastructure and capacity
The original proposal was to build a plant with a 125 megalitre per day capacity that could be scaled up to 500 if necessary. The decision was made before building that the a 250 megalitre plant would be built instead, although still with the potential to be scaled up to 500. The desalination plant is connected to the Tasman Sea via intake and outlet tunnels. The plant is connected to the water supply by a pipeline under Botany Bay from Kurnell to Kyeemagh, thence under Kogarah Golf Course, along the northern shore of the Alexandra canal and finally connecting to the Sydney supply tunnel near Ashmore street, Erskineville.At Erskineville, the drinking water delivered via the pipeline from Kurnell is delivered into the large City Water Tunnel connecting Potts Hill Reservoir, in western Sydney, to the Waterloo Pumping Station, in eastern Sydney. Off-take pipes along the length of the City Water Tunnel mean that, depending on demand, desalinated water will be fed into the drinking water supply throughout much of metropolitan Sydney. In the process, the desalination plant-supplied water will ease the drawdown on water from the city's surface storages including Warragamba Dam.
Both the tunnels to the sea and the pipeline to the water supply have been built to the ultimate capacity of 500 megalitres per day, so if the plant is ever expanded, the supporting infrastructure is already in place.
1.5 million Sydney residents south of Sydney Harbour and as far west as Bankstown are the direct consumers of the desalinated water. The plant itself has its own water treatment facilities which means that all water entering the pipeline will be clean and potable.
Initial operation
The plant will operate continually for at least its first two years. After the first two years the plant will operate at full capacity whenever total dam storage levels fall below 70 percent until total dam storage levels reach 80 percent .Areas directly supplied with desalinated water
The local government areas that will directly receive the desalinated water are:- AshfieldMunicipality of AshfieldThe Municipality of Ashfield is a Local Government Area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It lies approximately 10 kilometres west of the central business district.- Demographics :According to the , there:...
: 40,262 - AuburnAuburn CouncilAuburn Council is the governing body of a local government area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, about 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district...
: 61,125 - BankstownCity of BankstownThe City of Bankstown is a city and Local Government Area in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, centred on the suburb of Bankstown....
: 174,513 - Botany BayCity of Botany BayThe City of Botany Bay is a Local Government Area in south eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It encompasses the suburbs to the north of Botany Bay, such as Botany. The administrative centre is located at Mascot, which is 7 km south of the Sydney central business...
: 37,472 - BurwoodBurwood CouncilThe Municipality of Burwood is a Local Government Area in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.- Suburbs in the local government area :Suburbs serviced by Burwood Council are:* Burwood* Burwood Heights* Enfield...
: 30,827 - Canada BayCity of Canada BayThe City of Canada Bay is a Local Government Area of New South Wales, Australia and located in the metropolitan area of Sydney. The city was formed in December 2000, following the merger of Concord and Drummoyne councils...
: 65,742 - Canterbury: 135,573
- HurstvilleCity of HurstvilleThe City of Hurstville is a Local Government Area in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The city centre is located 17km SSW of the Sydney central business district and west of Botany Bay....
: 75,230 - KogarahMunicipality of KogarahThe Municipality of Kogarah is a Local Government Area in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The centre of the municipality is located 14km SSW of the Sydney central business district and west of Botany Bay....
: 53,200 - LeichhardtMunicipality of LeichhardtThe Municipality of Leichhardt is a Local Government Area in the inner-west of Sydney, in state of New South Wales, Australia.-History:The Municipality of Leichhardt stands on land that traditionally belonged to the Gadigal and Wangal people, of the Eora nation...
: 51,114 - MarrickvilleMarrickville CouncilMarrickville Council is a Local Government Area situated in the Inner West region of Sydney, Australia.The area is bounded by Leichhardt to the north, the City of Sydney to the east and north-east, the City of Botany Bay to the south-east, Rockdale to the south, Canterbury to the west, and...
: 76,284 - RandwickCity of RandwickThe City of Randwick is a Local Government Area in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. One of Sydney's largest parks, Centennial Park, lies within the city boundary of Randwick. Other major landmarks in Randwick include the world-famous Randwick Racecourse,...
: 125,994 - RockdaleCity of RockdaleThe City of Rockdale is a Local Government Area in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The city centre is located 12 kilometres south-south-west of the Sydney central business district, on the western shores of Botany Bay...
: 92,126 - StrathfieldMunicipality of StrathfieldThe Municipality of Strathfield is a Local Government Area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Municipality incorporates the suburbs of Flemington, Homebush, Homebush West, Strathfield South entirely, and shares the following suburbs with other Councils, Belfield, Greenacre, and Strathfield...
: 30,220 - SutherlandSutherland ShireThe Sutherland Shire is a Local Government Area in the Southern Sydney region of Sydney, Australia. Geographically, it is the area to the south of Botany Bay and the Georges River...
: 215,084 - SydneyCity of SydneyThe City of Sydney is the Local Government Area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia...
: 177,000 - WaverleyWaverley Municipal CouncilWaverley Municipal Council is a Local Government Area in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.- History :...
: 62,290 - WoollahraMunicipality of WoollahraThe Municipality of Woollahra is a Local Government Area in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The administrative centre of the Municipality of Woollahra is located on New South Head Road at Double Bay....
: 53,332
According to the local council populations listed above, 1.5 million people have access to water from the desalination plant. The actual amount of people drinking the water would be less than this as some council areas are only partly in the zone covered by the plant.
Recycling plants being built
Sydney Water is also building large new recycling plants, that will also be able to recycle up to 70 gigalitres of waste water per year by the year 2015, for non-drinking purposes. These include the Western Sydney Replacement Flows plant being built at St Marys in Sydney's west, the Camellia Recycled Water plant in the central suburbs of Sydney's metropolitan area, and the large industrial recycling plant at Port Kembla, in Wollongong, NSW.Cost
The total approved budget of the project was $1.896 billion and it was delivered on time and $60 million under this budget.Capital Wind Farm, Bungendore
Part of the Kurnell plant's cost was the construction of a wind farm to offset the energy usage of the plant with 100% renewable energy. The Capital Wind FarmCapital Wind Farm
The 140 megawatt Capital Wind Farm is located in New South Wales, around north east of Canberra, just southeast of Lake George and north of Bungendore...
at Bungendore was built for this purpose and has a nameplate capacity of 140 MW.
Sources
- Sydney's desal plant switched on – Sydney Morning Herald, 2010-01-28.
- Frequently asked questions – Drought – Sydney Catchment Authority – accessed 2010-01-29 (note some of the data on this page needs to be updated as it was written in January or February 2007)
- Water storage and supply report – 28 January 2010 – Sydney Catchment Authority – accessed 2010-01-29
- Bulk water storage and supply report – 15 February 2007 – Sydney Catchment Authority - accessed 2010-01-29
- Water storage and supply report – 26 November 2009 – Sydney Catchment Authority – accessed 2010-01-29 (Report shows levels at 55%. Subsequent reports show decline)
- Metropolitan Water Plan – NSW Government "Water For Life" – Accessed 2010-01-29
- This report was written before February 2007, when supply levels dropped to 33.9%
- Project overview, Sydney Water
- "Desalination plant at Kurnell". Sydney Water. http://www.sydneywater.com.au/Water4Life/Desalination/. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- Sydney gets its first taste of desalinated water – ABC News, 2010-01-28.
- Areas to receive from desalination plant as part or all of their water supply (250ML a day) – sydneywater.com
- Sydney's desal plant switched on – Sydney Morning Herald, 2010-01-28.