Switching On Sydney’s Desalination Plant
Sydney’s desalination plant at Kurnell has been turned on for the first time in years, meaning you could be months away from drinking desalinated water. Its activation means we’re experiencing “mild water stress” as our dams have dipped below 60 per cent, and a backup water source is needed (water restrictions come in when dam levels reach 50 per cent).
So how much will this cost you, and is desalinating ocean water the answer to our water problem?
To find out, Tess spoke to Dr Ian Wright, Senior Lecturer in Natural Science at Western Sydney University and a former Sydney Water scientist who says it’s not a long-term sustainable way of making drinking water. “It’s like putting a band-aid on a wound when you really need to go to hospital and get stitches.”
