Making plans for our water
Desalination plant option
A NEW desalination plant at the Sunshine Coast or Brisbane is among the options to secure southeast Queensland’s longterm water supply.
SEQwater is currently developing a plan for the next 30 years.
“Outside of a sharp rise in consumption or a severe drought, SEQ does not need another bulk drinking water supply until after 2030, and closer to 2040,” a spokesman said.
That is due to the $7 billion water grid, including the Gold Coast desalination plant and western corridor recycled water scheme, built to combat the Millennium Drought -- and changes in behaviour since.
“Our assessment to date shows the next bulk water source will be needed on the Sunshine Coast based on the smaller size of its dams and its population forecast to more than double to 500,000 by 2040,” the spokesman said.
Options outlined in the 2016-2046 water security program include a desal plant in the northern (Sunshine Coast) or central (Brisbane) region., building a weir on the Mary River near Coles Crossing or raising the wall of Borumba Dam south of Gympie.
Seqwater stresses that no decisions have been made and that emerging technology over the coming decades could provide alternative possibilities.
Meanwhile, research by professional services firm PwC has suggested SEQ could become a giant sponge in 25 years’ time, soaking up every drop of water and re-using it to water city parks, gardens and urban farms in a bid to combat the growing threat of drought in the region.
Weather experts and climate modelling has suggested by 2030, there will be very little winter and spring rainfall so water conservation is becoming increasingly important.
The “porous city” approach already being incorporated into developments in China directs rainfall from roads and footpaths into underground water tanks to be stored for later use instead of letting it wash out to sea.
“It’s about not letting a single drop of water go to waste,” PwC’s real estate advisory managing director Robert Cavallucci said.
It’s about introducing asphalt, which you think is quite impervious, but there are new asphalts out there that allow for the penetration of water into a drain.
PwC also predicts the rise -literally -- of vertical urban farms on an industrial scale as technologies balancing nutrients, water and light enable productivity of up to 350 times per acre greater than conventional farming.
On a smaller scale, city farms like that at Northey St in Brisbane will continue to grow in popularity. “It all stems from the popular movement of “local is the new global”,” Mr Cavallucci said.
The movement would expand with disused land and rooftops being turned over to communal greenhouses.
“There’s definitely a strong trend towards people wanting accessibility to fresh, local fruit and vegetables. We don’t have the opportunity to go to Gatton every day and go pick tomatoes but you can go down to Windsor and do the same thing.”