Councils urged to reject mobile desalination
Tuesday, 06 June 2006 21:16
Total Environment Centre (TEC) and the Community Environment Network CEN have written to all Councillors urging them to oppose the move and support recycling as a sustainable solution to the central coast’s water shortage.
TEC Urban Campaigner, Leigh Martin said “Desalination is an expensive and environmentally damaging option due to high energy consumption and greenhouse emissions. Mobile desalination mobile desalination plants will also add air pollutants and fuel costs resulting from transport. It is outrageous that the Councils continue to promote this unsustainable approach while failing to develop recycling”.
Water recycling levels on the central coast are extremely low. As an example, in a 2004 submission to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) Wyong Council revealed that less than 0.1% of its effluent was recycled and that it was only planned to increase this to 0.8% by 2005.
The groups are concerned that the councils are pursuing mobile desalination to avoid the detailed environmental and economic scrutiny required for a permanent desalination plant.
CEN Chair John Asquith said “A permanent desalination plant would not stand up to proper environmental and economic assessment, particularly if compared to recycling. The Councils should not be allowed to avoid this scrutiny with mobile desalination”.
There are also serious concerns that the Councils failed to seek approval for funding of mobile desalination in the recent review of central coast water prices by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) which was released in early May.
“It is not legitimate to propose mobile desalination plants only weeks after the most recent price determination. The Councils must immediately explain what effect this proposal will have on water prices or what services will need to be cut to fund the plants”, Mr Asquith said. The groups have highlighted to the Councils that pressing ahead with mobile desalination will invite sustained community opposition.
“Objections to desalination on the central coast have been expressed by a range of organisations and individuals. A continued push for desalination on the central coast will result in similar controversy and community opposition to that which lead to the shelving of the proposed Kurnell plant in Sydney”, Mr Martin said.
