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Victoria's as yet unused $5 billion desalination
plant near Wonthaggi in the state's south east. |
The capacity
of Victoria's desalination plant could be expanded by 50 billion litres
a year if Melbourne's water storages continue to experience big falls recorded
in recent years.
Melbourne is using 416 billion litres of water a year - the
highest consumption in a decade.
A risk management framework developed by Melbourne's water
businesses shows the city is entering the "action" zone that includes
an order of water from the desalination plant and "augmentation decisions
to maintain water security".
(“Conundrum” might
be the best word to describe Victoria’s as yet unused desalination plant near
Wonthaggi in the state’s south east.
Victoria needs the
potable water the plant can produce because of droughts brought on by human-induced
climate change and yet the coal-fired power the desalinization plant needs worsens
the reasons for its need. The adage of a “cat chasing its tail” appears to
apply.
Yes, this is a
wicked problem – we need the water, but the power we produce to secure that
water worsens the problem that has caused the water shortages in the first
place.
We need to approach
the problem from a different perspective and rather than aggravate the essence of
the trouble, that is burning more fossil fuels as we attempt to live life in a “business
as usual” way, we need to recast and reshapes our lives so that we reduce our
water demands and rather than spending some $5 billion on something that will
only worsen what exists.
Victorians need to
limit and reduce their water demands and spend with enthusiasm on building a
renewable energy grid throughout the state – Robert McLean).
