Tugun desalination plant

Desalination is an integrated part of Brisbane's Gold Coast Waterfuture (GCWF) strategy which was completed by Gold Coast Water. The GCWF is a review of the City’s bulk water management strategy for the next 50 years.

Oppostion from Queensland Conservation Council

"Queensland Conservation has called on the Beattie Government to drop any support for a desalination plant on the Gold Coast, due to the significant increase in greenhouse pollution that will be created by the plant’s excessive electricity demands. The Gold Coast City Council is attempting to fast track a 110 Megalitre desalination plant at Tugun to begin operation within the next 2 years."

Queensland Conservation note that “The Gold Coast plant will take about as much electricity from the grid as 20 000 homes." They go on to note that "Southeast Queensland may need a new coal fired power station just keep the plant operating” but it also seems likely that the government may turn to the nuclear option as the ABC report in June 2006 noted that "An engineering expert says nuclear power is the best long-term way to run desalination plants in Australia." [1] [2]

Related SourceWatch articles

• Tugun Bypass C4 route

External links

• Annon, "Tugun proposed as site for Gold Coast desalination plant for emergency back-up", Goldcoast City Council, 3 February 2006.
• Press Release, "GOLD COAST Desalination – The Climate Change Accelerator", Queensland Conservation Council, 27 February 2006.
• Annon, "Nuclear flagged as power source for desalination plants", ABC Online News, 28 June 2006.