Sydney’s new water desalination plant has been officially commissioned and is now contributing 15 per cent of the city’s water.
Premier, Kristina Keneally said the plant was part of the Metropolitan Water Plan to secure a water supply for Sydneysiders into the future.
Ms Keneally said the facility’s current output of 55 million litres a day would gradually increase to the plant’s full capacity of 250 million litres per day over the coming months.
Space-age plant turned on
“Sydney’s Desalination Plant is on time and more than $60 million under budget,” Ms Keneally said.
“Importantly, this facility provides water that is 100 per cent independent of rainfall.”
She said water from the Desalination Plant was drawn into the system from Erskineville and is distributed to 1.5 million people across the Sydney CBD, inner west, eastern suburbs, southern Sydney, parts of the Sutherland shire and as far west as Auburn.
She said the plant was 100 per cent offset by wind energy, with a new wind farm now up and running at Bungendore, just outside Canberra.
“Sydney’s wind powered Desalination Plant will run for a two year proving period to ensure it is working,” Ms Keneally said.
“How the Desalination Plant will run after the two year proving period will be determined in the updated Metropolitan Water Plan due out this year, and will be based on factors including rainfall, climatic outlook and dam levels.
“We have some of the largest recycled water projects in Australia under construction or online across greater Sydney and we are on track toward the Metropolitan Water Plan target of producing 70 billion litres a year by 2015,” the Premier said.
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