Two advanced water treatment plants have been completed in Western Australia’s Murchison region, and will use a process called electrodialysis reversal (EDR) to reduce naturally occurring nitrates and salinity in groundwater.
Western Australia Water Minister, Dave Kelly, announced the completion of the water treatment plants as part of the Western Australian Government’s $24 million program to improve water quality in the region. The new plants were delivered by Water Corporation.
These new plants follow the commissioning of a similar plant in Mount Magnet in late 2020, with another plant in Meekatharra expected to be online by early 2022.
EDR plants already operating in the northern Goldfields communities of Yalgoo and Wiluna have helped reduce nitrate levels in drinking water by as much as 75 per cent.
Cue’s plant, like those in Mount Magnet and Meekatharra, is powered by renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions, lowering operating costs, and allowing the site to operate during network power outages.
To mark the plant’s commissioning, Cue and Sandstone have also been added to Water Corporation’s 2021-22 Waterwise Towns program.
Cue residents can now exchange old, inefficient showerheads for waterwise alternatives under a program called Showerhead Swap, with Sandstone’s free plumbing service due to launch soon.
Mount Magnet joined the program last year while Meekatharra will be added once its EDR plant is complete in early 2022.