Water production at the Adelaide Desalination Plant in Lonsdale is being ramped up to ensure a secure water supply for metropolitan Adelaide during the sustained dry conditions.
Last year was Adelaide’s driest year since 2006, with only 347mm of rain recorded over the 12 months, nearly 200mm below average.
The dry conditions have resulted in the lowest water inflows to Adelaide’s reservoirs in around 40 years. The combined reservoir levels are at 44 per cent—the lowest level in more than 20 years.
“It has been an exceptionally dry 12 months, but Adelaide’s water supply will remain consistent and secure, with sufficient supply to meet the community’s needs,” Minister for Housing and Urban Development of South Australia, Nick Champion, said.
“Desalination plants are generational future-proofing investments that provide important water security when we need it most.”
The Adelaide Desalination Plant will temporarily produce more water than its typical volume until mid-2025.
The plant is expected to produce up to 300 million litres of water daily during the next month. In January 2024, just 520 million litres were produced for the entire month.
The increase will ensure SA Water customers in metropolitan Adelaide have a consistent water supply throughout summer without water restrictions.
Adelaide is supplied by 10 reservoirs, water from the River Murray, and the Adelaide Desalination Plant. This diversity and flexibility of sources protect the city’s water security.
Drinking water produced by the Adelaide Desalination Plant is pumped along an 11-kilometre pipeline to storage tanks at Happy Valley, where it’s blended with treated water from the reservoir.
The interconnection of SA Water’s network of pipelines and pump stations allows the company to supply drinking water produced at the Adelaide Desalination Plant to homes and businesses from Aldinga in the south to Elizabeth in the north.
“In this dry time, we are reaping the benefits of long-term strategic thinking of the former Rann Government to appropriately invest in critical infrastructure,” Mr Champion said.
“Without this previous investment in a desal facility, Adelaide would face the prospect of water restrictions.”
In addition to producing more water at the Adelaide Desalination Plant, SA Water is also optimising its water use from the River Murray. This water is transported through major pipelines, such as the Mannum to Adelaide Pipeline, to top up its reservoirs.
Despite the dry local conditions, the Murray-Darling Basin has a high level of water availability—currently 66 per cent overall—which helps underpin the State’s water security.
Most of South Australia’s regional areas have sufficient supply through the River Murray, groundwater, or desalination.
A Water Security Response Plan has been established for the Eyre Peninsula and steps out how SA Water protects the region’s water security and encourages the community to save water.
The Adelaide Desalination Plant has supplied more than 212 billion litres of drinking water to homes and businesses across Adelaide since it was first switched on in 2011.
SA Water’s industry-leading operating pattern of the plant – which typically produces 5.3 billion litres of water in a minimum production mode for nine months of the year – has enabled it to swiftly increase production to further support the city’s water needs.
In full operation, the plant can produce 100 billion litres of water per year.
