A WA parliamentary question probes the Minister for Water Resources about Griffin Coal's proposal to desalinate water from Wellington Dam, including environmental and cost implications compared to Agritech's alternative. The Minister acknowledges the proposal but defers to an ongoing steering committee assessment.

AnsweredQoN 1153Legislative Council
Asked
4 December 2006
Portfolio
Water Resources

QuestionView source ↗

WELLINGTON DAM - WATER DIVERSION PROPOSALS
I refer to Griffin Coal’s water diversion proposal for Wellington Dam. (1) Is the minister aware that Griffin Coal has proposed to desalinate water that is diverted from Wellington Dam and to sell it back to the Water Corporation? (2) What volume of water is proposed to be desalinated? (3) If yes to (1), will Griffin Coal use coal-fired generation to desalinate the water? (4) If yes to (2), what is the estimated annual greenhouse emissions from the proposed desalination plant? (5) How do these emissions compare with the estimated emissions from Agritech Smartwater’s desalination proposal, which plans to use the pressure of water released from Wellington Dam to force water though its reverse osmosis plant? (6) What is the comparative cost of production per gigalitre for the Griffin Coal and Agritech proposals? Hon KIM CHANCE

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. However, there are many proposals for using water from Wellington Dam. The minister has established an independent high-level steering committee to provide advice on the best use of water from the Collie basin. The steering committee is evaluating a wide range of options and is expected to report back to the minister by late December 2006. Accordingly, the minister is aware of the concept of the proposal, but not the details. (2) This is being assessed by the steering committee. (3)-(5) Not applicable. (6) The steering committee is expected to use a number of criteria based on environmental, social and economic concerns to make recommendations to the minister. The minister expects the report on options to include the cost of production per gigalitre.
(1) Is the minister aware that Griffin Coal has proposed to desalinate water that is diverted from Wellington Dam and to sell it back to the Water Corporation? (2) What volume of water is proposed to be desalinated? (3) If yes to (1), will Griffin Coal use coal-fired generation to desalinate the water? (4) If yes to (2), what is the estimated annual greenhouse emissions from the proposed desalination plant? (5) How do these emissions compare with the estimated emissions from Agritech Smartwater’s desalination proposal, which plans to use the pressure of water released from Wellington Dam to force water though its reverse osmosis plant? (6) What is the comparative cost of production per gigalitre for the Griffin Coal and Agritech proposals? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. However, there are many proposals for using water from Wellington Dam. The minister has established an independent high-level steering committee to provide advice on the best use of water from the Collie basin. The steering committee is evaluating a wide range of options and is expected to report back to the minister by late December 2006. Accordingly, the minister is aware of the concept of the proposal, but not the details. (2) This is being assessed by the steering committee. (3)-(5) Not applicable. (6) The steering committee is expected to use a number of criteria based on environmental, social and economic concerns to make recommendations to the minister. The minister expects the report on options to include the cost of production per gigalitre.
(2) What volume of water is proposed to be desalinated? (3) If yes to (1), will Griffin Coal use coal-fired generation to desalinate the water? (4) If yes to (2), what is the estimated annual greenhouse emissions from the proposed desalination plant? (5) How do these emissions compare with the estimated emissions from Agritech Smartwater’s desalination proposal, which plans to use the pressure of water released from Wellington Dam to force water though its reverse osmosis plant? (6) What is the comparative cost of production per gigalitre for the Griffin Coal and Agritech proposals? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. However, there are many proposals for using water from Wellington Dam. The minister has established an independent high-level steering committee to provide advice on the best use of water from the Collie basin. The steering committee is evaluating a wide range of options and is expected to report back to the minister by late December 2006. Accordingly, the minister is aware of the concept of the proposal, but not the details. (2) This is being assessed by the steering committee. (3)-(5) Not applicable. (6) The steering committee is expected to use a number of criteria based on environmental, social and economic concerns to make recommendations to the minister. The minister expects the report on options to include the cost of production per gigalitre.
(3) If yes to (1), will Griffin Coal use coal-fired generation to desalinate the water? (4) If yes to (2), what is the estimated annual greenhouse emissions from the proposed desalination plant? (5) How do these emissions compare with the estimated emissions from Agritech Smartwater’s desalination proposal, which plans to use the pressure of water released from Wellington Dam to force water though its reverse osmosis plant? (6) What is the comparative cost of production per gigalitre for the Griffin Coal and Agritech proposals? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. However, there are many proposals for using water from Wellington Dam. The minister has established an independent high-level steering committee to provide advice on the best use of water from the Collie basin. The steering committee is evaluating a wide range of options and is expected to report back to the minister by late December 2006. Accordingly, the minister is aware of the concept of the proposal, but not the details. (2) This is being assessed by the steering committee. (3)-(5) Not applicable. (6) The steering committee is expected to use a number of criteria based on environmental, social and economic concerns to make recommendations to the minister. The minister expects the report on options to include the cost of production per gigalitre.
(4) If yes to (2), what is the estimated annual greenhouse emissions from the proposed desalination plant? (5) How do these emissions compare with the estimated emissions from Agritech Smartwater’s desalination proposal, which plans to use the pressure of water released from Wellington Dam to force water though its reverse osmosis plant? (6) What is the comparative cost of production per gigalitre for the Griffin Coal and Agritech proposals? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. However, there are many proposals for using water from Wellington Dam. The minister has established an independent high-level steering committee to provide advice on the best use of water from the Collie basin. The steering committee is evaluating a wide range of options and is expected to report back to the minister by late December 2006. Accordingly, the minister is aware of the concept of the proposal, but not the details. (2) This is being assessed by the steering committee. (3)-(5) Not applicable. (6) The steering committee is expected to use a number of criteria based on environmental, social and economic concerns to make recommendations to the minister. The minister expects the report on options to include the cost of production per gigalitre.
(5) How do these emissions compare with the estimated emissions from Agritech Smartwater’s desalination proposal, which plans to use the pressure of water released from Wellington Dam to force water though its reverse osmosis plant? (6) What is the comparative cost of production per gigalitre for the Griffin Coal and Agritech proposals? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. However, there are many proposals for using water from Wellington Dam. The minister has established an independent high-level steering committee to provide advice on the best use of water from the Collie basin. The steering committee is evaluating a wide range of options and is expected to report back to the minister by late December 2006. Accordingly, the minister is aware of the concept of the proposal, but not the details. (2) This is being assessed by the steering committee. (3)-(5) Not applicable. (6) The steering committee is expected to use a number of criteria based on environmental, social and economic concerns to make recommendations to the minister. The minister expects the report on options to include the cost of production per gigalitre.
(6) What is the comparative cost of production per gigalitre for the Griffin Coal and Agritech proposals? Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. However, there are many proposals for using water from Wellington Dam. The minister has established an independent high-level steering committee to provide advice on the best use of water from the Collie basin. The steering committee is evaluating a wide range of options and is expected to report back to the minister by late December 2006. Accordingly, the minister is aware of the concept of the proposal, but not the details. (2) This is being assessed by the steering committee. (3)-(5) Not applicable. (6) The steering committee is expected to use a number of criteria based on environmental, social and economic concerns to make recommendations to the minister. The minister expects the report on options to include the cost of production per gigalitre.
Hon KIM CHANCE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. However, there are many proposals for using water from Wellington Dam. The minister has established an independent high-level steering committee to provide advice on the best use of water from the Collie basin. The steering committee is evaluating a wide range of options and is expected to report back to the minister by late December 2006. Accordingly, the minister is aware of the concept of the proposal, but not the details. (2) This is being assessed by the steering committee. (3)-(5) Not applicable. (6) The steering committee is expected to use a number of criteria based on environmental, social and economic concerns to make recommendations to the minister. The minister expects the report on options to include the cost of production per gigalitre.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. However, there are many proposals for using water from Wellington Dam. The minister has established an independent high-level steering committee to provide advice on the best use of water from the Collie basin. The steering committee is evaluating a wide range of options and is expected to report back to the minister by late December 2006. Accordingly, the minister is aware of the concept of the proposal, but not the details. (2) This is being assessed by the steering committee. (3)-(5) Not applicable. (6) The steering committee is expected to use a number of criteria based on environmental, social and economic concerns to make recommendations to the minister. The minister expects the report on options to include the cost of production per gigalitre.
(1) Yes. However, there are many proposals for using water from Wellington Dam. The minister has established an independent high-level steering committee to provide advice on the best use of water from the Collie basin. The steering committee is evaluating a wide range of options and is expected to report back to the minister by late December 2006. Accordingly, the minister is aware of the concept of the proposal, but not the details. (2) This is being assessed by the steering committee. (3)-(5) Not applicable. (6) The steering committee is expected to use a number of criteria based on environmental, social and economic concerns to make recommendations to the minister. The minister expects the report on options to include the cost of production per gigalitre.
(2) This is being assessed by the steering committee. (3)-(5) Not applicable. (6) The steering committee is expected to use a number of criteria based on environmental, social and economic concerns to make recommendations to the minister. The minister expects the report on options to include the cost of production per gigalitre.
(3)-(5) Not applicable. (6) The steering committee is expected to use a number of criteria based on environmental, social and economic concerns to make recommendations to the minister. The minister expects the report on options to include the cost of production per gigalitre.
(6) The steering committee is expected to use a number of criteria based on environmental, social and economic concerns to make recommendations to the minister. The minister expects the report on options to include the cost of production per gigalitre.

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