Desalination plant for the ACT

—====NEWSFLASH====—

WATER, IT FALLS FROM THE SKY AND IS FREE!

The only time climate change gets into the media is if there’s an ‘imminent disaster’ or massive argument.

Waiting For Godot said :

Now the rain is falling, the dams are full and climate change has been proven to be a furphy.

It has? I must have missed the media releases.

Ah, yes – desalination. One of the panic measures springing out of the Al Gore global warming hysteria in the mid noughties. I remember all those arch warmists saying we had to build one because – according to the government’s climate change guru Tim Flannery – we would never have full dams again and there would be hardly anymore rain falling due to climate change. Now the rain is falling, the dams are full and climate change has been proven to be a furphy.

Aren’t you glad we held back in the ACT and were not left with hugely expensive white elephants pumping out millions of litres of desal water nobody needs?

welkin31 said :

This priceless gem of a post out of mid 2007 popped up as “Related Content” to the “What plant is this ?” post.
The original link to the CT article was dead – however a search finds this –
Radical water proposal for ACT
CATHY ALEXANDER
04 Jun, 2007 08:42 AM
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/radical-water-proposal-for-act/281666.aspx
For sure the last 10 years has seen some loony-toon thinking on water supply. And are we all paying for it through our hip pockets.

So from your linked article:

“Actew’s preferred options for coping with record low inflows into Canberra’s dams are recycling waste water back into the system, enlarging the Cotter Dam, and taking water from the Tantangara Dam. “

And

“But Actew said it was keeping an open mind about ways to address the water crisis, and that included looking at pumping desalinated water from the coast. “

Yeah damn them for thinking through a number of ideas and then going with one of the preferred options. They should have just done nothing and gambled that it was going to rain.

Classified said :

I always found it interesting that many people I know thought a few years of below long term average rainfall was ‘the new normal’.

The new normal is actually about increased variation. So both the dry period *and* the wet period are now normal.

And as of today our dam level are at 98% capacity.

I always found it interesting that many people I know thought a few years of below long term average rainfall was ‘the new normal’.

This priceless gem of a post out of mid 2007 popped up as “Related Content” to the “What plant is this ?” post.
The original link to the CT article was dead – however a search finds this –
Radical water proposal for ACT
CATHY ALEXANDER
04 Jun, 2007 08:42 AM
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/radical-water-proposal-for-act/281666.aspx
For sure the last 10 years has seen some loony-toon thinking on water supply. And are we all paying for it through our hip pockets.

With the population of Canberra constantly growing, with new development all over the place, it is only a matter of time before new services are required, including water, gas, electricity, roads, schools, etc.

No new dams in 25 years – is it any real surprise we have problems. I would suggest that when the rains begin again later this year we seriously consider building more water storage (ie another huge dam).

There is a public meeting on 14 June about the proposed recycled sewage water plan.

By saying that recent rains have had no effect on dam levels, I believe, to be: a) gross incompetence on the part of actew; and b) a lie.

If Jonathon David could be fired for incompetence, he would have been a long time ago. The facts are twofold; Firstly, there is no water problem, I cite that there have been no restrictions on industrial usage to date. Secondly, with all the water that has fallen over the past week, to then say that there has been no result on the dam levels means either incompetence at a grand level, or a major level, dependant on your views of dam locations and city planning.

Its time to support a government that is willing to fund infrastructure, not junkets.

Oh, when I say 63rd bottle of Smirnoff, I mean those tiny bottle you get in Hotel Rooms. Mate of mine gave me a box that is a few weeks short of expiry.

Correction: south of Canberra, not sought of Canberra

Sorry Ari, I’m on to my 63rd bottle of Smirnoff

nemo, I think you mean we HAD numerous options.
Today however our options are limited unless inflows increase. Even if we build a new dam now, with only 14 months of water in the catchments, it would be futile. Although should be considered as a long term measure.

My opinion of the Tennant Dam is that it would have so many problems compared to recycled water (which I’m not mad keen on). The two biggest issues are water quality and danger to nearby inhabited areas.
1) Just as with Googong, a dam in the Nass Valley would be adjacent to current farmland, and would submerge some farming country. Water quality would be a big issue.
2) When I asked an ACTEW rep what was the projected outcome of a failure of the dam wall. He would neither confirm nor deny that a torrent of water would potentially damage area sought of Canberra, and even as far as Theodore. Although he did confirm the risk of the dam wall failing was very small.

Given the choice, I would take recycled water and an enlarged Cotter Dam over Tennant.

(Cue ‘flavour of the month’ joke here: _______ )

I’ll take the recycled (AKA FILTERED)piss thanks. ‘Virtually pristine’ is laughable, not that I care all that much either way.

We have numerous options

link

From the Tennent Dam option – which is one of many …

“A total of 92.8GL per annum has historically been available from the Tennent catchment. Hydrological modelling, which includes allowances for “worst ever” drought scenarios and climate change, predicts that this will reduce to 51.15Gl per annum in future years. This is still more than sufficient to supply all
of the Tennent reservoir options including the large reservoir.
The opportunity exists at Tennent to establish a catchment that is virtually pristine.”

Hmmm recycled pee….or pristine water…. I know what I prefer.

You pissed Soulman? It’s “shore up”.

Sorry, correction: “Stanhope and ACTEW why they have done nothing to sure up the water supply”

Should by why they have done so to sure up the water supply?

Expensive, if they are talking about possible power outages in the future due to the drought, what will pumping water from the coast, over the great dividing range, and into Canberra mean for the power grid.

Oh that’s right, one more reason to move to nuclear power.

But I still wonder why no one has asked Stanhope and ACTEW why they have done nothing to sure up the water supply. An ACTEW report in 1995 said that by 2005, Canberra would need a new dam the size of, or greater than that of Corin.

The water problems we have now are no surprise. They were predicted. And I think in addition to finding out what we can do now to fix the problem caused by obvious procrastination, we also have to ask why nothing was done in relation to that report? Why after a drought of six years and changing trends in weather are we only now just looking seriously at water options?

And when all the state environment ministers feel it necessary to fly to Cairns to chat about carbon trading then all the posturing about saving water and reducing carbon footprints is just a great big tree-hugging hippie piece of crap.

I just use sprinklers when it hasn’t rained for a few weeks.

This panic about water is gay. People will,be whingeing about how wet it is in a few months.

I favour that it is another orchestrated effort to garner support for the other options by presenting the extreme, given the success of their other orchestrated effort with Jon Stanhope a week back to get us all lined up behind the gas power station to overcome the ‘drastic summer blackouts’ crisis.

I keep my house on the garden too.

Desalination, bring it on. I am prepared to pay more for water. Water gets pumped up a mountain from the shoalhaven for part of Sydney’s water supply.

As for garden watering, I’ve been putting the house on the garden a couple of times a week, as well as the lawn.

From what I heard on 666 last week, I thought ActewAGL were in favour of recycling as desalination is logistically difficult for an inland city like Canberra.

As for garden watering, we’ve been putting a bucket in the shower to catch the first blast when you’re waiting for the water to warm up. It’s enough to keep the potted plants watered daily, or could be used to flush the toilet.

Yes, I think I need to go back to uni to learn some new words.

Or is the only option after too many years of ignoring infrastructure.

GnT appears to be a bit of a fan of the phrase “flavour of the month”.

It’s just a distraction to make us realise that recycling is the only economically feasible option.