water for a healthy country · 2008. 11. 18. · katanning desalination demonstration plant...

Water for a Healthy Country

Katanning Desalination Demonstration Plant

Business Plan

Olga Barron1 and

Kresho Zil2

1 CSIRO Land and Water

2 Kellogg Brown & Root Pty Limited

June 2006

The Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship is a research partnership between CSIRO, state and federal governments, private and public industry and other research providers.

The Flagship was established in 2003 as part of the CSIRO National Research Flagship Initiative.

The work contained in this report is collaboration between The Water for a Healthy Country Flagship and Kellogg Brown & Root Pty Limited.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2006 All rights reserved. This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth.

Citation: Barron, O. and Zil, K. (2006). Katanning Desalination Demonstration Plant: Business Plan. CSIRO: Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship Canberra.

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Katanning Desalination Demonstration Plant Business Plan

Page 1

Table of Contents Summary.................................................................................................................................3 1. Introduction .....................................................................................................................6

1.1 Background.........................................................................................................................6 1.1.1 Water supply.......................................................................................................6 1.1.2 Salinity ................................................................................................................6

1.2 State and commonwealth strategies ..................................................................................7 1.3 Situation in Katanning.........................................................................................................7 1.4 Objectives ...........................................................................................................................8 1.5 Scope of project..................................................................................................................9 1.6 Partnerships........................................................................................................................9

2. Previous investigations................................................................................................10 2.1 Hydrogeology....................................................................................................................10 2.2 Cost of salinity ..................................................................................................................10 2.3 Control of salinity ..............................................................................................................10

3. Description of proposal................................................................................................11 3.1 Groundwater resource......................................................................................................11

3.1.1 Groundwater hydrogeology ..............................................................................11 3.1.2 Location of bores ..............................................................................................11 3.1.3 Yields of bores ..................................................................................................14 3.1.4 Water quality.....................................................................................................14 3.1.5 Feed water delivery ..........................................................................................14

3.2 Water Pre-treatment .........................................................................................................15 3.2.1 Water quality.....................................................................................................15 3.2.2 Treatment .........................................................................................................15

3.3 Desalination ......................................................................................................................15 3.3.1 System description ...........................................................................................15 3.3.2 Operation and maintenance requirements .......................................................17

3.4 Reticulation system...........................................................................................................17 3.4.1 Desalinated water .............................................................................................17 3.4.2 Concentrate ......................................................................................................18

4. Costs ..............................................................................................................................19 4.1 General .............................................................................................................................19 4.2 Desalination plant .............................................................................................................19 4.3 Water distribution..............................................................................................................19 4.4 Evaporation pond .............................................................................................................20 4.5 Total cost ..........................................................................................................................20 4.6 Net Present Value.............................................................................................................20 4.7 Unit cost............................................................................................................................21 4.8 Other costs .......................................................................................................................21

5. Benefits ..........................................................................................................................23 5.1 Water supply.....................................................................................................................23 5.2 Infrastructure protection....................................................................................................23 5.3 Industrial development (CSIRO).......................................................................................24 5.4 Social amenity ..................................................................................................................24

6. Project assessment ......................................................................................................25 6.1 Strengths ..........................................................................................................................25 6.2 Weaknesses .....................................................................................................................25 6.3 Opportunities ....................................................................................................................26

6.3.1 Agriculture.........................................................................................................26


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6.3.2 Industrial development .....................................................................................26 6.3.3 Employment......................................................................................................26 6.3.4 Biodiversity protection.......................................................................................26 6.3.5 Energy ..............................................................................................................27

6.4 Threats..............................................................................................................................27 7. Management ..................................................................................................................28

7.1 Governance, Management and Accountability.................................................................28 7.2 Staffing and Research ......................................................................................................28

8. Financial.........................................................................................................................30 8.1 Sources of funds...............................................................................................................30 8.2 Disposition of revenue ......................................................................................................30 8.3 Commercial implications...................................................................................................30

9. Implementation..............................................................................................................31 9.1 Schedule...........................................................................................................................31 9.2 Design...............................................................................................................................31 9.3 Construction......................................................................................................................31 9.4 Reporting ..........................................................................................................................31

10. Conclusion ........................................................................................................32 11. References ........................................................................................................33

List of Figures Figure 1.1 Damage to fence due to rising water table (Source WA Department of

Agriculture) ............................................................................................................ 8 Figure 3.1 Section across Katanning Creek showing surface and deep aquifer water

level ..................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 3.2 Water logged area in Katanning.......................................................................... 12 Figure 3.3 Location of production bores, desalination plant, pipeline routes and area

expected to be affected by groundwater abstraction........................................... 13 Figure 3.4 Typical layout of desalination plant ..................................................................... 16 Figure 3.5 Internal view of typical desalination plant ............................................................ 16

List of Tables Table 3.1 Individual and average water qualities of monitoring bores ................................. 14 Table 4.1 Capital cost estimate summary ($’000) ................................................................ 20 Table 4.2 Operation and maintenance costs ($’000) ........................................................... 20 Table 4.3 Other project costs ($’000) ................................................................................... 22


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Summary

Background

Rising water tables and salinity encroachment in the Wheatbelt has resulted in land and infrastructure degradation which is already extensive and likely to increase significantly. On the other hand, climate change and environmental water allocations has resulted in a decrease in potable water availability in south west Western Australia, and this is compounded by increasing demands from increases in population and expansions in industrial and agricultural activity.

Yet, the saline groundwater in the Wheatbelt, and its current rate of replenishment, could replace or augment the potable water supplied to the Wheatbelt from groundwater and coastal catchments around Perth, if it was desalinated. The major hurdle to implementing such a scheme in the past has been the cost of producing potable water from brackish water which is still double that of the retail price of existing freshwater sources. However, the real cost of providing water to the Wheatbelt under the current scheme is high. Local desalination plants could provide water to many areas of the Wheatbelt at less than the current real cost, while at the same time improving the urban environment, providing a degree of water independence, local abundance and security, create jobs, and open up opportunities for new technologies such as mineral extraction from brine.

The Business Plan was prepared in 2004 to support a funding proposal.

Proposal

Katanning has been identified as the town in the Wheatbelt with the highest risk from salinity with the majority of the townsite already experiencing the effects of saline groundwater. The economic and social implications are severe, with water logging and salinity causing significant damage to residential and commercial properties and to transport infrastructure (roads and railways). The predicted damage bill due to salinity is $6.9 million, or approximately $1,800 per resident.

It is proposed to design, install and operate a 200 m3/day demonstration scale reverse osmosis desalination plant in Katanning. Existing groundwater abstraction pumps will extract 270 m3/day of groundwater from 20% of the townsite affected by water logging and pump it via a 2.4 km 80 mm internal diameter above ground thermally insulated polyethylene pipeline to the desalination plant. Several alternative water supply and route options were explored for the 200 m3/day of potable quality water produced by the plant which will feed into the Katanning water supply scheme. The adopted option is to pump the water to the Water Corporation’s water supply storage dam through an 8 km 80 mm internal diameter above ground polyethylene pipeline following the Great Southern Highway. An alternative route is to follow the railway. Alternatively, the water can be pumped direct to the WA Meat Marketing Company.

70 m3/day of brine concentrate would be discharged to two 1 ha evaporation ponds via a 1.4 km 55 mm internal diameter above ground polyethylene pipeline.

The system will be designed to operate for 20 years during which time investigations will be undertaken to obtain better understanding in the following areas:

• bore yield, aquifer hydrogeochemical dynamics, impact on water table, and quality of groundwater for desalination


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• desalination pre-treatment requirements, desalination membrane flux and longevity, power requirements, cost, yield and quality

• the technology and cost and reliability to extract commercial mineral products from the brine concentrate downstream of the desalination process using innovative chemical engineering, resulting in a generic capacity to forecast mineral recovery opportunities from geochemical assays of local saline resources

• the economic, environmental and social benefits arising from the holistic integration of water supply, infrastructure, agricultural, mineral extraction, employment and biodiversity issues.

Costs and benefits

Order of magnitude, i.e. ±20–30%, capital costs for the design and construction of the desalination plant, pipeline, pump station and evaporation pond for the adopted option were estimated to be $500,000 of which $265,000 is associated with the desalination plant, $135,000 is associated with supply and delivery pumps and pipelines, and $100,000 is associated with an additional evaporation pond. The estimated operating and maintenance costs are of the order of $90,000 per year, of which $29,000 is for power, primarily for the desalination plant but also for pumping.

The cost of producing desalinated water, based only on the operating and maintenance (including equipment replacement) costs of the additional facilities, is $1.25/m3. Whole of Life Net Present Value costs for the entire scheme and on-going operations were estimated to be $1.4M, which translates to a water unit cost of $2.21/m3.

Benefits from the project arise from the following areas:

• supply of water to the meatworks: an annual saving of $42,000 to $448,000 over current supply from the Rural Water Scheme;

• protection, reduced maintenance and deferred replacement of roads, commercial buildings and residential buildings, resulting in a total saving of $1.6 million over the next 30 years.

The project will also serve research purposes. It will allow investigations into the impact of long-term water abstraction on groundwater draw down, fluctuations in the pumped water quality, feed pre-treatment options, brine disposal and the potential for mineral recovery from desalination by-product brine on a real life scale. This opportunity is particularly important for the successful implementation of similar projects in other rural towns.

If the project is successful and is expanded, the current water supply for Wheatbelt towns could be replaced or augmented with the freshwater produced, and this could stimulate additional investment. If mineral extraction can be demonstrated to be economically viable, there are opportunities for new industries based on production of high quality salt to be established. Successful implementation across the Wheatbelt would increase employment opportunities, both in the new industries, and in the operation and maintenance of the desalination and ancillary facilities.

Success of the project may also demonstrate the feasibility of engineering solutions to rehabilitate or retain agricultural land either already damaged or potentially at risk of damage from salinity and rising water tables, and protect the biodiversity of remaining wetlands and other remnant vegetation.


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Conclusions and Recommendations

The real unit cost of providing potable water to rural towns in the Wheatbelt through desalination of shallow local groundwater, even at this demonstration scale, is less than that of the existing scheme which utilises water from supplies around Perth, especially if existing infrastructure is used. If one then adds in the benefit of avoided infrastructure repair costs, it is clear that there is a direct economic benefit to the area BY extracting and desalinating groundwater.

Additional economic benefits would accrue if commercially viable industries could be established to extract minerals from the saline concentrate, or if other sustainable water using industries were attracted to the area. Non-cost benefits would also be realised through the protection and restoration of biodiversity, and through improvement of amenity and economic security for local residents.

This project will demonstrate how to turn a liability into a resource. The technologies developed and systems trialled in Katanning would be suitable for implementation in other rural towns, in WA as well as the rest of Australia, threatened by salinity. Consequently, this project will have great immediate and flow-on benefits for the state, as well as for the nation.


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1. Introduction

1.1 Background

1.1.1 Water supply

The combined impacts of climate change on water resources, concerns over environmental water allocations, and projected increases in water demand foreshadow a $200M-$300M expenditure on developing new water resources in Western Australia. At the same time, the Wheatbelt region is under significant economic, environmental and social pressures, and the current emigration of people from this region is likely to continue if existing industries do not prosper or new industries do not arise. In both cases, a new supply technology for low cost fresh water has the real potential to improve demographics, regional economics and the environment.

Furthermore, the rising saline watertable in the Wheatbelt has an associated cost in land and infrastructure depreciation valued at greater than $300M per annum. Salinity is the overwhelming environmental concern for the region, which has 70% of the nation’s affected area with an additional 4 million hectares of land at risk.

Currently, 40 GL is drawn annually from groundwater and coastal catchment supplies around Perth and transported to the Eastern Goldfields. The Rural Water Scheme distributes about half of this water to rural communities across the WA Wheatbelt region. The volume of inland saline water and its current rate of replenishment could replace or augment this quantity (and more) if desalinised. While the cost of producing potable water from brackish water is still double that of the retail price of existing sources, the real cost of providing water under the current scheme exceeds $10/m3 in remote areas. Local desalination plants could deliver water to many of these rural towns at less than the current real cost and deliver significant benefits across the triple bottom line. Current generation desalination cannot cost effectively produce usable water from impaired sources, at least when considering only commercial arguments outside of current subsidy. Efficiency improvements deliver on average 4% savings annually, but breakthrough science is needed for significant reductions in costs.

1.1.2 Salinity

The salinisation of WA Wheatbelt towns and surrounds is devaluing the quality of life in that region. Agricultural productivity is suffering in many areas, though efforts to productively utilise salinised land is showing some progress. Considerable investment is required for the maintenance of infrastructure subject to deterioration due to the effects of salinisation. Water imported into the region also contributes to the problem. Awareness of the current and projected urban salinity menace (crumbling house foundations, degrading roads, loss of town ovals and parks) is a strong and palpable overtone in these communities.

Further, some 450 species of plants and 218 species of invertebrates face likely extinction as a consequence of the rising water table and encroaching salinity.

A scheme that improves the urban environment, provides a degree of water independence, local abundance and security, and creates local technology; infrastructure and jobs would be a flagship project for a region under immense social pressure and decline.


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1.2 State and commonwealth strategies

A number of strategies related to water use and salinity focus on the development of innovative options in water management.

The WA Salinity Strategy and the State Government’s policy on salinity places a strong emphasis on the adoption of salinity management strategies which are integrated with the production of alternative water supplies, along with the development of new industries.

The State Water Strategy documents desalination as the preferred contingency plan for new supplies and total water cycle management. Additional elements of the Strategy include the encouragement of fit for purpose water consumption, innovation and education, resource protection, and self-sufficiency and increased technical expertise in rural water.

The WA State Sustainability Strategy now underpins the approach of all aspects of government and state development. At its heart is the need to develop future opportunities based on a full appreciation of the social, economic and environmental consequences (”system thinking”) in both the immediate and longer term.

The WA Natural Resources Council has developed and endorsed the Salinity Investment Framework to steer the investment of public funds in managing salinisation. The essential feature of this approach is to focus investment on protecting the highest priority assets at risk. These include rural towns and local ecosystems of high conservation value.

The CSIRO Flagship Program “Water for a Healthy Country”, a national research program focusing on water, its uses and values, is designed to address one of Australia’s most pressing natural resource issues - the sustainable management of our water resources. The Program, which is a science partnership, will provide information and management opportunities to improve the benefits Australia gains from its water resources. A number of projects deal with rural water management issues.

The Commonwealth has recently announced a National Action Plan (NAP) $316,000,000 investment program dedicated to dealing with salinity issues in Western Australia. It is important to provide a strong scientific basis for such a program via demonstration projects similar to the proposed Katanning Desalination Project, which will ensure the best return from such a large scale investment.

1.3 Situation in Katanning

In 2003, 16 towns throughout WA were identified under the State’s Salinity Investment Framework (SIF) selection process as priority towns – those most at risk and strategically important enough to require immediate investment in salinity control. Of the 16 towns, Katanning was identified as the one with the highest risk from salinity and the impacts are being felt right now.

Over the past 6 years the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Town Program has conducted intensive groundwater investigations of the Katanning town catchment. The studies indicate that nearly two-thirds of the townsite is experiencing the effects of saline groundwater within 1.5 m of the soil surface and that Katanning faces substantial costs to manage salinity. For a town the size of Katanning (pop. 3,800), the economic and social implication are severe, with water logging and salinity within the townsite causing significant damage to local residential and commercial properties (see Figure 1.1) and also to transport infrastructure (roads and railways).


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Figure 1.1 Damage to fence due to rising water table (Source WA Department of Agriculture)

1.4 Objectives

Small scale desalination schemes designed only to produce fresh water aren’t always cost effective. However, an integrated system which combines fresh water production with salinity control and industry development produces multiple financial benefits which will make the scheme viable.

The objective of this project is to assess and demonstrate integrated town water management which processes locally sourced water to supply existing and future rural water demands and addresses three of the most pressing problems facing rural communities: salinity (environmental); lifestyle, infrastructure and amenity constrained by reducing population (social); and limited growth, limited employment opportunities, and limited and high cost water (economic).

This project, based in Katanning, will demonstrate how to maximise returns from saline groundwater production and turn a liability into a resource by desalinating groundwater to supply local businesses, town residents, and new industries. The technologies developed and systems trialled in Katanning will be suitable for implementing in other WA rural towns throughout the region threatened by salinity.

Specifically the project will:

• protect some townsite infrastructure from the impacts of salinity

• demonstrate the opportunity for WA inland desalination and development of alternative water supply schemes

• produce a model for integrated rural town water management and industry development, suitable for adoption in towns across the State

• promote the development of high value industries using new water supplies and salt


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• foster local ownership of water resource management issues.

1.5 Scope of project

The objectives of the project will be met by designing, installing and operating a 200 m3/day demonstration scale reverse osmosis desalination plant and water supply system in the town of Katanning which will extract groundwater from 23% of the area affected by shallow groundwater. Investigations will be undertaken in the following major areas:

• Resources. Obtain an understanding of the saline water resources of the Katanning region, including their yield, hydrogeochemical dynamics, quality as feedstock for desalination, and the optimisation of benefits associated with exploiting saline water

• Saline water pre-treatment and desalination. Design, install and operate a desalination plant with appropriate pre-treatment which matches source water characteristics with membrane technology capability to deliver high quality water, membrane longevity and concentrate suitable for recovery of minerals

• Technology and systems integration. Bring together the individual elements of fundamental science to deliver a system-wide understanding of how desalination may be used to tackle the salinity threat to assets. It includes both integration of the physical processes into an optimal technological package, but also embeds that technology into a broader economic and policy system, to ensure that desalination achieves economic, environmental and social objectives for WA.

There is also potential to examine extraction of minerals from the brine, producing a variety of salt products by sequential evaporation and possibly evaluate innovative chemical engineering to produce new commercial mineral products downstream of the desalination process. It may be possible to develop a generic capacity to forecast mineral recovery opportunities and businesses based on geochemical assays of local saline resources.

1.6 Partnerships

The project will be delivered by a partnership arrangement between the Katanning Shire, the Department of Agriculture, the CSIRO Flagship Program Water for Healthy Country, Water Corporation and Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS) Regional Partnership Program.

The project would create opportunities for further commercial participation across the water, energy and mineral resources sectors. Discussions with WA SALT are under way with respect to product and market development. Western Power’s commitment to renewable energy affords a possible partnership. There is also great interest in the project from National Action Plan Regions nation-wide.


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2. Previous investigations

2.1 Hydrogeology

There is a good understanding of hydrogeological conditions and the nature of water logging and salinity development within the townsite of Katanning as a result of a number of groundwater investigations. To date 8 production and more then 80 monitoring bores have been installed in the townsite and beyond, a groundwater model has been designed and water balance in the town catchment has been estimated. The current placement of bores allows 435 m3 of water per day to be abstracted from the townsite. If all this water was abstracted, this would reduce groundwater levels and control waterlogging and salinity within 170 ha of the most affected district of the town.

2.2 Cost of salinity

Dames and Moore (2001) (now URS) undertook an economic analysis to determine the cost of salinity to the town of Katanning and assessed the benefits and costs of salinity control measures. The main recommendations were that groundwater pumping and improvements to the storm water drainage system be implemented to lower the watertable and to re-direct surface water. It was also recommended that alternatives to evaporative water disposal be investigated.

2.3 Control of salinity

A number of rehabilitation measures were recommended by Dames and Moore to deal with the effect of shallow groundwater. Implementation of some of these recommendations (such as a shallow coil drainage system in Prosser Park) indicated that although they were successful, their impact was localised and more extensive measures are required to deal with salinity and waterlogging throughout the whole townsite.

The Rural Town Water Management Project, a part of the CSIRO Flagship Program “Water for Healthy Country”, has been developing a Rural Town Water Management Model since June 2003. Documents produced to date review and analyse climatic, hydrometric, hydrological, geophysical and monitoring data, water use in the town and the town catchment water balance. They also outline the available desalination technology which may be adopted in Katanning and also the potential for salt recovery from desalination by-products (brine).


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3. Description of proposal

3.1 Groundwater resource

3.1.1 Groundwater hydrogeology

The granite weathering profile and a thin upper layer of alluvium forms a shallow basin of porous material in the Katanning area. The basal saprock and disaggregated granite grit are the main water bearing strata with thickness up to 15m. Free groundwater also occurs within the most upper layer (alluvium/colluvium), which mainly underlies the low hills areas and creek valley. The two water-bearing strata are separated by a pallid zone clay aquitard.

The extent of the groundwater basin coincides generally with the area of low surface gradients in the low-lying parts of the valley. The deeper aquifer extends beyond this basin as a low permeability unconfined layer, which feeds water laterally from deforested up-lying areas.

The water level in the deep aquifer along Katanning Creek varies from more than 9 m below ground level on the valley slopes to above ground level in the town along the valley floor. A profile of the valley and the deep aquifer water level is in Figure 3.1.

300

305

310

315

320

325

330

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800

Elev

atio

n, m

Elevation GWL

Figure 3.1 Section across Katanning Creek showing surface and deep aquifer water level

Shallow groundwater is mainly within 2 m of ground level and less than 0.5 m below ground level in the area where the hydraulic head of the deep aquifer is above the ground level. The basin area is marked by low lateral hydraulic gradients.

3.1.2 Location of bores

The waterlogged area within the town of Katanning is shown in Figure 3.2. It is located along the creek in the town centre, but it stretches to the east from the creek valley on the southern edge of the town. The area also coincides with a lineament, which because of its association


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with the modern creek bed and drilling results suggest that the zone may be associated with a buried palaeochannel, but this has not been clearly confirmed by geophysical surveys.

Figure 3.2 Water logged area in Katanning

Two of the eight existing production bores within the waterlogged area of the Katanning townsite, 02KCP01 and 02KCP02 (at the swimming pool) (see Figure 3.3), have been selected to supply water to the desalination plant. These bores are approximately 28 m deep, with slotted intervals between 4 and 26 m below ground level. The area in which the water table is expected to be lowered as a consequence of pumping from these bores is shown in Figure 3.3.


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Figure 3.3 Location of production bores, desalination plant, pipeline routes and area expected to be affected by groundwater abstraction


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3.1.3 Yields of bores

The saprock is the most productive layer. Its permeability, indicated by the airlift yield, significantly increases with depth in all bores. The airlift yield varies from 0.2 L/s in the upper zone of the saprolite to 4L/s in most permeable lower zones. Bore 02KCP01 had a yield of 3 L/s over a period of 120 hours, while bore 02KCP02 had a yield of 1.2 L/s over 24 hours. Maximum observed water table drawdowns were 16-18 m.

3.1.4 Water quality

Individual, average and range of water quality parameters for monitoring bores near the proposed production bores are presented in Table 3.1. Table 3.1

Table 3.1 Individual and average water qualities of monitoring bores

Bore Unit 99KC16 02KC04 02KC05 02KC06 03KC03 Mean Max Min pH 7.5 8.3 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.7 8.3 7.5

Al g/m3 <0.005 0.017 0.011 0.009 <0.005 0.012 0.017 <0.005

Alkalinity g/m3 275 510 270 330 235 324 510 235

Ba g/m3 0.12 0.091 0.067 0.43 0.16 0.17 0.43 <0.002

Ca g/m3 181 27 165 84 186 129 186 27

Cl g/m3 5200 2000 4800 3500 4600 4020 5200 2000

F g/m3 0.4 1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 1.0 <0.1

Fe g/m3 <0.005 <0.005 <0.005 0.037 <0.005 <0.005 0.037 <0.005

HCO3 g/m3 336 622 329 403 287 395 622 287

K g/m3 10 8 17 12 11 12 17 8

Mg g/m3 572 83.2 513 238 588 399 588 83

Mn g/m3 0.023 <0.001 0.58 0.011 0.034 0.162 0.580 <0.001

NO3-N g/m3 0.71 <0.01 0.22 0.01 0.51 0.48 0.71 <0.01

Na g/m3 2350 1360 2520 1990 2240 2092 2520 1360

Ni g/m3 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.02 <0.01 0.02 0.02 <0.01

SO4-S g/m3 410 104 366 54.7 288 245 410 55

SiO2-Si g/m3 43 49 44 51 43 46 51 43

Sr g/m3 1.7 0.3 1.3 0.65 1.6 1.11 1.70 0.30

TOC g/m3 9 8 9 8 5 7.8 9.0 5.0

Zn g/m3 0.019 <0.005 0.013 0.018 0.008 0.01 0.02 <0.005ECond mS/m 1560 708 1510 1130 1460 1274 1560 708

TDS g/m3 9543 3791 9113 5988 8489 7385 9543 3791

TDS (EC) g/m3 8970 4071 8683 6498 8395 7323 8970 4071

3.1.5 Feed water delivery

The proposed route of the pipeline from the two production bores to the desalination plant is shown in Figure 3.3. The pipeline would be 2.4 km long and 80 mm NB internal diameter, and would be laid on the ground surface within the Katanning Creek bed. It is proposed to use a polyethylene pipe with a thermal protection coating (COEX pipe) as this would


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minimise the increase in temperature of the water inside the pipeline. Under these conditions, the water temperature in the pipe should not exceed 40°C.

The alternative to this approach is to employ a pipeline without thermal protection (i.e. black polyethylene pipe) and to bury the pipeline 600 mm below ground to provide thermal protection. However, the use of the COEX pipeline provides greater flexibility if the system is extended in the future, and the additional cost of the pipeline is offset by the cost of earthworks required to bury the black polyethylene pipe.

It is assumed that the existing submersible groundwater abstraction pumps will be able to deliver the groundwater to the desalination plant.

3.2 Water Pre-treatment

3.2.1 Water quality

Specific parameters in any water to be treated by reverse osmosis, such as dissolved Fe, Mn, Al and SiO2, can have the potential to cause problems in the process, such as scaling and the production of precipitates, if they are present at sufficiently high concentrations. However, the concentration of these constituents in the groundwater to be treated by the demonstration reverse osmosis plant, with the possible exception of the high level of Mn (0.58 g/m3) in one of the bores, is acceptable and special pre-treatment is not required. The temperature of the feedwater, provided it is less than 40-45ºC, will also be acceptable.

3.2.2 Treatment

It is proposed to pump the groundwater directly from the bore into the reverse osmosis plant to prevent oxidation of the feedwater and keep the manganese in solution. The water will pass through a multi-media anthracite/sand filter followed by a 5 μm then a 1 μm cartridge filter. The water will be dosed with a polymeric antiscalant to sequester the inorganic salts, including silica which at a concentration at 50 g/m3 will require a silica specific antiscalant, to prevent scaling of the membranes. The feed water will also be disinfected using ultraviolet light to prevent microbial growth on the membranes. The mixed media filter would be backwashed automatically and the residue would be mixed with the concentrate.

3.3 Desalination

3.3.1 System description

The proposed 200 m3/day reverse osmosis plant would be supplied in a 20 foot sea container and include mixed media and cartridge filters (see Figure 3.4). The membrane system would consist of six 200 mm high-rejection membranes suitable for brackish and saline water (see Figure 3.5). The permeate would be pumped to a 50 m3 header tank from where it would be pumped to the ultimate destination. The system would be remotely monitored.


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Figure 3.4 Typical layout of desalination plant

Figure 3.5 Internal view of typical desalination plant

The plant would be located adjacent to the Katanning industrial area where services such as power, water, and phone are available. Power requirements are approximately 2 kWh/m3 of water produced. There is adequate capacity to supply this requirement, but there is a need to upgrade the three phase High Voltage (37 kVA) power line and install a mini pillar.

The RO plant would recover 75% of the input feed water. For a permeate flow of 200 m3/day, approximately 270 m3/day of feedwater would be required, and 70 m3/day of concentrate (brine) would be generated.


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Given that the feed water has a total dissolved solids (TDS) content of approximately 7000 g/m3, permeate quality is anticipated to have a TDS of approximately 70-100 g/m3. The pH would be 6-7.5 and other constituents would be very low. Depending on the final use of the permeate, either an ultraviolet or chlorination disinfection system would be installed at the outlet. There may be a need to adjust alkalinity by dosing a small amount of NaOH (about 1 to 2 kg/day) into the permeate or passing the permeate through a calcite filter. The calcite media would need to be replenished approximately once per year.

The brine generated by the plant would have a TDS of approximately 27000 g/m3 with all other constituents at 3.8 times their concentration in the feedwater.

3.3.2 Operation and maintenance requirements

The desalination plant would be operated remotely, but short daily visits by a plumber or other skilled tradesman would be required to check on the system. Based on the feed water quality and recovery rate, weekly cartridge filter changes and weekly membrane chemical cleans would be required. The chemical cleans would involve citric acid and/or alkali-based cleaning regimes using 100-200 litres of 5% solutions. The membranes would require replacement every year.

3.4 Reticulation system

3.4.1 Desalinated water

Potential delivery points for the desalinated water produced by the desalination plant are as follows (see Figure 3.3):

• Western Australian Meat Marketing Co-operative abattoir

• the Water Corporation’s chlorination unit just downstream of the existing water storage reservoir, passing adjacent to the abattoir.

The pipeline could follow either of the following routes to reach these locations (see Figure 3.3):

• along the Great Southern Highway and other roads within the road reserve

• along the railway within the rail reserve.

The four alternatives (two pipeline routes and two end discharge points) range in length from 5.7 to 8.1 km. The route along the road is 0.4-0.7 km longer than the route along the railway. Furthermore, the distance from the abattoir to the Water Corporation’s chlorination plant is about 2 km.

While there are certain advantages to supplying the high quality desalinated water direct to the abattoir, such as retaining its quality rather than allowing it to be contaminated with poorer quality water, for the purposes of this report, it was assumed that the water would be delivered to the Water Corporation’s water storage facility. The Water Corporation’s facility is 45 m higher in elevation than, and is 8.1 km from, the desalination plant.

Approximately 3.7 km of the pipeline would be constructed using the existing 80 mm internal diameter black polyethylene pipeline from the groundwater bores to the evaporation pond. The remainder would be constructed from new black 80 mm internal diameter polyethylene pipe. It is envisaged that the pipe would be laid on the surface along most of the pipeline


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route. The pipeline would go under roads by installing the pipe within an 8 m long 200 mm diameter steel pipe sleeve.

A 2.5 kW pump would be required to pump the 200 m3/day of desalinated water from the permeate storage tank at the desalination plant to the Water Corporation’s facility. The pump would be housed in a simple shed on a concrete slab. No standby pump would be provided.

A tank with 4 hours storage capacity would be preferable at the point of discharge at the Water Corporation’s water storage facility. However, for the purposes of this report, it is assumed the desalinated water would be directly discharged into the Water Corporation’s water storage facility via the chlorination unit.

3.4.2 Concentrate

The brine concentrate from the desalination plant would be pumped directly from the discharge side of the membranes to an existing 1 ha evaporation pond approximately 1.4 km to the east of the desalination plant (see Figure 3.3). A 55 mm internal diameter black polyethylene pipeline would be laid on the surface (partially in the creek bed) to deliver the brine to the evaporation pond. A 0.5 kW pump would be required to pump the water from the desalination plant to the evaporation pond which is approximately 5 m higher in elevation.

Long-term average annual rainfall in the Katanning area is 483 mm while annual pan evaporation is 1780 mm. The net evaporation is thus approximately 1300 mm per annum. To completely evaporate the 70 m3 of brine generated per day, an evaporation pond with an effective area of approximately 2 ha is required. The existing 150 m x 65 m evaporation pond has an effective area of approximately 10,000 m2 (1 ha). Consequently, an additional 1 ha 100 m x 100 m evaporation pond would be required. The additional pond would be lined with bentonite clay (as is the existing pond) to prevent seepage of highly saline water to the underlying groundwater. Monitoring of the existing pond using groundwater monitoring bore does not show any signs of leakage to date.


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4. Costs

4.1 General

The capital and operating costs of the desalination system are conceptual and based on budget prices from suppliers and general engineering experience. They are accurate to ±20–30%. All quoted costs exclude GST. Power is assumed to cost $0.17/kWh (based on Western Power information).

The following rates were used in the Net Present Value (NPV) calculations:

• discount rate: 7.1% pa

• inflation: 2.5% pa

• taxation: 30.0% pa

• design life: 20 years.

4.2 Desalination plant

The capital cost of a 200 m3/d containerised reverse osmosis plant including all pre-treatment requirements, transport, installation and commissioning is estimated to be $265,000. There would be a need to extend and upgrade the three phase High Voltage (37 kVA) power line to the site and construct a pillar (approximately $2,000). The cost of connecting the plant to the high voltage line is estimated to cost $4,000).

Annual operation and maintenance costs are estimated to be $53,000. This cost includes 4-monthly maintenance, cartridges, cleaning, antiscalant and one set of membranes. Power costs are estimated to be $25,000 per annum. The high pressure reverse osmosis pump (estimated to cost $20,000) would also need to be replaced every 5 years.

4.3 Water distribution

The capital cost of the pipeline from the borefield to deliver 270 m3/day of groundwater to the desalination plant is approximately $17,000. There is no allowance for installation of pumps as these already exist, but the cost of bores and pumps (assumed to be of the order of $22,000) is factored into the overall net present value to determine the total unit price for water for the entire scheme. Operational costs for the bore pumps are assumed to be borne by the pre-existing project and are not included in this estimate.

The capital and installation cost of the pipeline from the desalination plant to the Water Corporation’s storage facility is approximately $37,000. The capital and installation cost of the pump is approximately $16,000. The cost of the control system is assumed to be $10,000.

The capital and installation cost of the pipeline from the desalination plant to the evaporation pond is approximately $4,000. The capital and installation cost of the pump is approximately $2,500.

Operational costs including maintenance are estimated to be $7,500 per annum. Power costs are estimated to be $4,000 per annum.


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4.4 Evaporation pond

The existing evaporation pond is estimated to have cost $100,000, including earthworks and installation of a bentonite layer. The additional evaporation pond is therefore also estimated to cost $100,000. The cost of the existing pond is not included in the total capital cost for the proposed demonstration project, but is factored into the overall net present value to determine the total unit price for water for the entire scheme.

4.5 Total cost

A summary of the capital cost of the proposed demonstration project is provided in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1 Capital cost estimate summary ($’000)

Description Cost

Pipeline from borefield to desalination plant $16.6

Pipeline from desalination plant to Water Corporation pond $37.4

Pipeline from desalination plant to evaporation pond $4.0

Pump Station at desalination plant $18.5

Desalination plant $265.0

Evaporation pond $100.0

Provisional sum for pumping control system $10.0

Provisional sum for power supply $6.0

Provisional sum for design $42.0

Total Capital Cost $499.50

Note that the capital cost does not include supervision of construction or contingency.

A summary of the operation and maintenance cost of the demonstration project, based on operation for 365 days per year, is provided in Table 4.2.

Table 4.2 Operation and maintenance costs ($’000)

Description Annual Cost

Power $30

Labour $35

Materials and chemicals, including part replacement $26

Total Operation and Maintenance cost $91

4.6 Net Present Value

In addition to the costs incurred as part of implementing this demonstration project, there are a number of elements of infrastructure already in place that should be included in a net present value estimate of the entire scheme. These include the capital cost of installation of the bores and bore pumps (approximately $22,000), the cost of the existing 3.7 km 80 mm internal diameter black polyethylene pipeline from the groundwater bores to the evaporation pond (approximately $20,000), and the cost of the existing evaporation pond (approximately $100,000). The total real installed capital cost is thus $641,000.


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The additional cost of power to the bores is estimated to be $3,000 per year, so that the total incurred operating cost is $94,000 per annum.

The total NPV for the proposed demonstration project, with no allowance for indirect costs or contingency, is $1.4 million.

4.7 Unit cost

Assuming the capital cost of the desalination plant is covered by the Regional Partnership funds, the cost of producing desalinated water could be based only on the operating and maintenance (including equipment replacement) costs of the additional facilities. On this basis, with total operation and maintenance costs of $91,000 per annum, the unit cost of water is $1.25/m3.

Based on Net Present Value, the unit cost of water is $2.21/m3.

4.8 Other costs

Other expenses that would be incurred during the two year demonstration project period are related to the following activities:

• supervision of infrastructure installation

• groundwater monitoring

o evaluation of groundwater table response to water abstraction from the production bores

o leakage through the liner of the evaporation pond

• water quality monitoring

o investigation of water quality fluctuation during long term groundwater abstraction

o investigation of water quality in the desalination concentrate

• assessment of saline groundwater resources in Katanning and development of a full scale groundwater abstraction scheme

• development of a Business Plan for a full scale desalination plant.

These costs are summarised in Table 4.3.


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Table 4.3 Other project costs ($’000)

Other Partner/Applicant Contributions Item

Estimated Cost ($) Description

Amount ($)

Type (cash/in-

kind)

Partner’s / applicant

name 30 In kind Shire 20 In kind WADA

Wages, salary and superannuation

115

Groundwater studies GW modeling System economic evaluation System design and supervision

65 In kind CSIRO

48 In kind Curtin

90 Cash Shire Consultant/ Contractors 228

Desalination pre-treatment study GW modeling Test pumping Geophysical surveys 90 Cash WADA

10 In kind WADA

Travel 15

150 days of traveling expenses for project staff to visit Katanning from Perth/Northam/Merredin over 3 yrs.

5 In kind CSIRO

Equipment Hire/Lease 20

Shire plant for earthmoving, infrastructure site works, pipeline laying and general construction

20 In kind Shire

Shire owned land for desalination plant 20 In kind Shire Land for

sitting infrastructure

25 Lease for evaporation pond and piping 5 In kind Shire

Audit 5 Independent audit of expenditure against outputs and milestones

5 Cash Shire

15 In kind Shire

10 In kind WADA Evaluation & Monitoring 70

Monitoring: groundwater levels, GW quality, pumping performance, GW yields and RO plant operation. 45 In kind CSIRO

25 Cash Shire Other Costs 55

Drilling and test pumping production bores, installation of monitoring bores. 30 Cash WADA

TOTAL 533


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5. Benefits

Installation of the demonstration plant will have immediate benefits for the Town of Katanning. These include water supply and protection of a portion of the town affected by waterlogging. If the project is successful, and groundwater from a greater portion of the town is extracted in the future, other benefits, such as recovery of salt minerals and development of other industries, may be realised. If these opportunities are realised and the scheme is expanded to non-urban areas of the wheat belt, other potential benefits, such as remediation of agricultural and remnant bush land, may be viable. These actual and potential benefits are described in this section.

5.1 Water supply

Because there is little or no local potable water supply in the most towns in the Wheatbelt, about 40 GL of water is supplied annually by pipeline from coastal sources near Perth by the Water Corporation. The average (1995-2002) water consumption in Katanning is 912,000 m3 per year, which includes 322,000 m3 per year to the Western Australian Meat Marketing Co-operative, all of which is supplied by the Water Corporation from coastal sources near Perth.

The cost charged for water for commercial use in Katanning is $1.18 for the first 300 m3 and $2.14 over 300 m3. In the case of the Western Australian Meat Marketing Co-operative, the charge varies seasonally from $1.38/m3 in the winter off-peak period to $2.64/m3 during the summer peak period. Annual water supply charges for 2002/2003 were $446,000.

These charges do not reflect the real cost of water supply, which in rural areas is considerably higher. Based on the unit cost of water from the desalination scheme of $1.25/m3, the potential real savings for supplying 200 m3/d compared to the cost of supplying water from the comprehensive scheme water are of the order of $55,000-$420,000. If the entire water supply for Katanning was supplied with desalinated water from a full scale plant at a unit charge of $1.25/m3, the potential real savings compared to the cost of supplying water from the comprehensive scheme water are of the order of $680,000-$5.2 million. If the water was supplied to the Western Australian Meat Marketing Co-operative at a cost of $1.25/m3, the immediate actual annual savings would be between $42,000 and $448,000.

As well as the high charged and real cost, which would be reduced under the proposed scheme, the supply of water imported from coastal sources near Perth probably contributes to the water logging and salinity problems in the townsite. Thus, replacing imported water with water sourced from beneath the town would reduce the ongoing contribution of water used for industrial and domestic purposes to the rising water table.

5.2 Infrastructure protection

In Katanning, approximately 240 ha or nearly two thirds of the estimated 390 ha built-up area of the town is or will be salt affected or has or will have saline groundwater less than 3 m from the surface within the next 30 years. Of this area, approximately 170 ha or 43% of the town, has or will have saline groundwater less than 1.5 m from the surface. Public and private infrastructure such as houses, motels and hotels, offices, churches, factories, storage facilities, service stations, Government buildings; roads, railways lines, communication and power networks, water and sewerage lines and sport and recreation facilities, could potentially be affected by the salinity and rising water table, either requiring more regular repair and maintenance, or potentially total replacement or relocation.

For a town the size of Katanning (population 3,800), the economic and social implications are severe. The predicted net present value of the damage bill (i.e. increased repair and


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maintenance costs), associated with those areas that are or will have saline groundwater less than 1.5 m from the surface over the next thirty years, is $6.9 million, or approximately $1,800 per resident (Dames and Moore 2001).

The area that would be protected by the proposed 200 m3/d demonstration project is approximately 40 ha, or about 23% of the total area in Katanning with saline groundwater less than 1.5 m from the surface. If the damage bill is proportional to area, which appears to be the case based on the majority of the damage costs being associated with roads and private residences (Dames and Moore 2001), the net present value of the averted damage bill may be of the order of $1.6 million.

5.3 Industrial development (CSIRO)

Additional fresh water may also contribute to the growth of local industry dependant on water supply (such as plant nurseries or irrigated agriculture). Potential expansion of livestock industries to the Wheatbelt region may also be supported by the new resources water development.

The project will provide an opportunity to develop technologies for mineral extraction from desalination concentrate, such as low quality salt. For instance, according to thermodynamic modelling, salt contains gypsum, anhydrite, magnesite and calcite, which may be used to produce a cattle lick. Considering the retail price of a 25 kg cattle lick block is $17 (Victoria), the sale of this product may also positively affect the economics of the desalination plant, which would generate 690 tonnes of salt per year. Making and marketing of block salt can be done by a local entrepreneur with the assistance of CSIRO Minerals in the scale-up of the process, and building and commissioning of the plant. Salt production would reduce requirements for concentrate disposal and contribute to the local economy. This would also be a significant (visible) achievement of the project.

5.4 Social amenity

The demonstration project will provide some, but limited, employment opportunities. The desalination plant can be operated remotely, and only require operator attention eight hours per week to undertake plant and equipment maintenance and monitoring.

A larger full-scale plant would probably require a full time permanent operator, and would also require more frequent maintenance, possibly 2 days per week.

With the increased availability and lower cost of water supplied by a full scale desalination plant, the Western Australian Meat Marketing Co-operative may be able to expand. Additional industries may also be attracted to establish in Katanning. These industries may include floriculture, horticulture, wineries, and wool washing.

There would be a flow-on effect of stable and increased opportunities in Katanning. Direct employment in industry often leads to five times greater employment in businesses ranging from business services, transport, electricity generation and public administration to trades, restaurants and accommodation. If new industries were to be established in Katanning, this would reverse the present trend of a stable or declining population and commercial activity.


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6. Project assessment

This chapter discusses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the project.

6.1 Strengths

This project would enable the partners to design, install and demonstrate an integrated town water management scheme which processes locally sourced water to contribute to the existing town water supply. The following strengths of the project will insure a successful outcome:

• proven desalination technology

• demand for water. There are long term and increasing demands for water in Katanning from major users such as WA Meat Marketing Co-operative and the Katanning Shire as well as from residents currently under water restrictions. Further, development of a local source would free up water supplies in Perth which are currently used to supply Katanning

• groundwater supply is sustainable. Modelling and test pumping have shown that the bore pumping yields are sustainable for long term water abstraction to provide feed water for the desalination plant

• the cost of water is lower than the current real cost

• support from local, state and federal government

• support from local businesses

• an integrated project looking at more than one aspect and benefit

• the strong research track record of CSIRO

• involvement of recognised engineering, planning and environmental services organisation.

The project will also provide employment opportunities, for example skilled labour to run the plant, borefield operation, and equipment maintenance and monitoring.

6.2 Weaknesses

The major weaknesses associated with the project are the following uncertainties:

• desalination pre-treatment requirements, although current expectations are that the proposed system will address these requirements

• mineral extraction process costing, economics, viability and reliability

• uncertainty in finding a market for the extracted salt

• ability to properly value benefits to social amenity and biodiversity conservation.

Other weaknesses that need to be addressed are the following:


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• the need for an industrial partner, such as WA Meat Marketing Company or the Water Corporation to take the desalinated water

• risks associated with interruption to supply of water to users such as WA Meat Marketing Company

• risks associated with delivery of poor water quality (high TDS, poor microbiological quality) to users such as WA Meat Marketing Company

6.3 Opportunities

Opportunities largely relate to potential expansion of the scheme if this project demonstrates that the elements of the scheme can be successfully implemented and the benefits are realised. The potential opportunities associated with expansion of the scheme to cover all of Katanning, or greater areas of the Wheatbelt, are outlined in the following sections.

6.3.1 Agriculture

Agricultural productivity is suffering in many areas in the Wheatbelt because of the rising water table and associated creation of salt scalds. Although efforts to productively utilise this salinised land are showing some fruit, there are many areas of waterlogged land which are not currently utilised productively.

Successful implementation and operation of the project could allow implementation of similar engineering solutions to water logging and salinity, such as groundwater pumping allied to production of desalinated water, over large areas of the Wheatbelt. This could result in reversal of rising water tables and restoration or retention of productive agricultural land in up to 6 million ha of agricultural land either already damaged or potentially at risk of damage, restoring hope, maintaining confidence and increasing rural wealth.

6.3.2 Industrial development

Successful implementation and operation of the project could provide opportunities for new resource development (e.g. mineral extraction) and improve prospects for industrial growth currently limited by water restrictions or high cost of water (e.g. Blyth Tree Farm’s growth is limited by water supply restrictions).

6.3.3 Employment

Expansion of the scheme to treat all of the areas of Katanning affected by salinity would require expansion of the borefield and desalination plant, and provide employment for more skilled staff to run the plant and borefield, perform equipment maintenance, and undertake monitoring.

These employment opportunities would be duplicated in every town where such a scheme was implemented.

If a mineral extraction plant was viable, skilled and semi-skilled personnel would be required to manage, operate, maintain and market the enterprise and its products.

6.3.4 Biodiversity protection

Successful implementation and operation of the project could also allow implementation of engineering solutions, such as groundwater pumping, in the Wheatbelt to protect the


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biodiversity of remaining wetlands and other remnant vegetation, that contain 660 threatened plant and animal species.

This includes areas of value in or adjacent to Katanning, such as along Katanning Creek, and the large trees along Great Southern Highway.

6.3.5 Energy

The power needs of the desalination unit and distribution network could provide an incentive to construct neighbourhood power stations. These facilities could be powered by renewable energy including solar, wind and biomass (such as the integrated wood processing demonstration plant at Narrogin). This would result in substantial intellectual property and expertise which could be used to create new industries and potential exports. It would also result in additional employment.

6.4 Threats

Threats to the success of the project include the following:

• capital and operating costs greater than anticipated

• water quality poorer than anticipated, resulting in the need for pre-treatment

• excessively high temperature in feedwater to the reverse osmosis plant, despite the use of thermally insulated pipe

• reverse osmosis plant has operational problems, including excessive scaling

• users not prepared to purchase desalinated water

• lack of support from key stakeholders

• groundwater does not respond to pumping as predicted, resulting in lower yields and/or reduced effect on water table.


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7. Management

7.1 Governance, Management and Accountability

The management of the Project will be the responsibility of the Shire of Katanning while the plant management will be undertaken by the Water Corporation. In addition a steering group and reference group will be established comprising representatives of CSIRO, the Water Corporation, Department of Agriculture and State Water Strategy (steering group) and Rural Water Program, the Regional Development Commissions for the Wheatbelt and the Great Southern, Universities, and the industry partners (reference group). The management team and steering group will govern and be held accountable for direction, performance and probity.

7.2 Staffing and Research

Since the proposed facility is a demonstration project, it will facilitate further investigation into water resources in the area and application of available technologies to local water resources development. It will allow investigations into the impact of long-term water abstraction on groundwater draw down, fluctuations in the pumped water quality, feed pre-treatment options, brine disposal and the potential for mineral recovery from desalination by-product brine on a real life scale. This opportunity is particularly important for the successful implementation of similar projects in other rural towns.

The Shire of Katanning will provide staff for the day to day project operation. The Water Corporation will manage and maintain the desalination plant and reticulation system. A joint team between CSIRO, WADA and Curtin University will design and run the monitoring program to evaluate the groundwater table response, water quality variation during water abstraction and requirement for the desalination project’s expansion.

All research will be carried out by staff from the joint team organisations unless unique skills are required from an external source through a consultancy.


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Katanning Shire

Research activities

Plant management

Steering group Reference group

CSIRO, WADA, Curtin University

Water Corporation

Figure 7.1 KDDP Organisation Chart


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8. Financial

8.1 Sources of funds

The Shire of Katanning is the Project Proponent, and also one of the major partners, contributing $210,000, or 20% to the total cost of the project. The Shire of Katanning is committed to supporting the project during its 2 year development and construction phase. The Shire of Katanning is also committed to running the project to ensure long term viability of the project and continuation of the benefits flowing to the Katanning community.

The project is also supported by the other project partners:

• The WA Dept. of Agriculture. The Department of Agriculture will provide $120,000 in cash and $40,000 in kind (salaries + operating), in support over the next two years.

• CSIRO. As part of its 'Water for a Healthy Country’ Flagship Program, CSIRO considered Katanning as a case-study for their Rural Town Water Management project and has spent $75,000 on construction of the `scenario model' to date and $20,000 on the business plan development. A further $115,000 will be spent on supporting this project until June 2006.

• Curtin University's Department of Chemical Engineering will provide technical support to the project amounting to $40,000 over two years.

• Regional Partnership Program (DOTARS). $500,000 will be required to cover capital costs for desalination plant, reticulation system and evaporation pond enlargement. This business plan is designed to support an application for funding by the Regional Partnership Program.

8.2 Disposition of revenue

The project will produce 200 m3/day of fresh water at an estimated cost of $1.25/m3. The sale of all of this water to the Western Australian Meat Marketing Co-operative at the price they currently pay of $1.38/m3 in the winter off-peak period to $2.64/m3 during the summer peak period would more than cover the estimated cost associated with plant operation and maintenance. Even if all the water was sold to the Western Australian Meat Marketing Co-operative at $1.25/m3, this would still cover the estimated cost of operating and maintaining the plant.

The revenue will be managed by the Shire of Katanning.

8.3 Commercial implications

The project at a proposed demonstration scale does not aim for a commercial outcome. However it will demonstrate that the cost of water production in rural towns can be comparable with the current water supply cost. The existing water pricing policy is heavily reliant on a Community Service Obligation, which to a great extent covers the capital cost of water delivery to consumers in rural WA.


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9. Implementation

9.1 Schedule

The proposed schedule is as follows

Stage 1 Approval of project Day1

Stage 2 Award of funds Month 1

Stage 3 Scheme design Month 2

Stage 4 Scheme construction and installation Month 3

Stage 5 Commencement of water production and investigative program

Month 4

Stage 6 Cessation of project and presentation of findings and report Month 28.

9.2 Design

An engineering consultancy team will be employed to provide a final design for the demonstration project, which will be largely based on the current business plan.

9.3 Construction

The construction phase will be managed and supervised by the Shire of Katanning and Water Corporation. This will include installation of the reticulation system and expansion of the evaporation pond. It is advisable that the construction phase will be supervised by professional engineers. The desalination plant will be delivered and installed by the manufacturer.

9.4 Reporting

Reports on the demonstration project development will be submitted after the completion of the stages 3 and 4 (see 9.1) and twice a year during the duration of the stages 5. The final report will be prepared after the project will be completed.

The reporting will also include regular presentations to stakeholders (at least once a year or as required) and media releases.


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10. Conclusion

It is proposed to construct a reverse osmosis plant producing 200 m3/day of desalinated water and 70 m3/day of concentrate (brine) from ground water pumped from existing production bores in a water logged area in a residential area of Katanning. The desalinated water would be pumped along a new above-ground pipeline to the Water Corporation’s storage to supply to industry in Katanning. It is also proposed to construct an additional 1 ha evaporation pond to augment the existing 1 ha evaporation pond for evaporation of the concentrate.

A grant of $500,000 is sought to fund the construction, purchase and installation of the equipment and facilities required.

It is anticipated that the ground water table would be lowered in an area of about 40 ha around the production bores, leading to a saving of $1.6 million in averted damage costs. The sale of desalinated water at a unit price of $1.25/m3, which would cover the cost of operating and maintaining the desalination scheme, would result in a savings of between $42,000 and $448,000 to the Western Australian Meat Marketing Co-operative.


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11. References

Australian Desalination Research Centre. Business Plan. Developed in collaboration with Curtin University, Murdoch University, University of Western Australia, Wheatbelt Enterprise Technology.

Barron, Aral, Hatton, Taylor. 2003. Rural Town Water Management. CSIRO Flagship Program Water for Healthy Country

Cox. 2000. Evaporation basin site investigation, Police Pool Road, east Katanning. Department of Agriculture. Letter to Shire of Katanning (unpublished).

Dames and Mores. 1993. Desalination costing study. Report for Water Authority of Western Australia

Dames and Moore. 2001 The economics of predicted rising groundwater and salinity in Katanning townsite. Final report for the Rural Towns Steering Committee and Agriculture Western Australia (unpublished).

Economics and technical assessment of desalination technologies in Australia: with particular reference to National Plan Priority Regions (2002). Agriculture Fishery and Forestry Australia, URS, National Dryland Salinity Program.

Global Groundwater. 2003. Katanning town groundwater program bore completion report. Katanning Bore Comp.

Hambleton. 1997. Letter to Shire of Katanning regarding rehabilitation of Prosser Park from Turf Management and Sports Technology (unpublished).

Hari Babu Vuthaluru and others. 2002. Feasibility Studies of Desalination Plants. School of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, WA.

Hopgood. 2003. Katanning town – Drill completion report. Department of Agriculture Draft Report

John Duff and Associates Pty Ltd and Voran. 2000. Katanning salinity management strategy (unpublished).

Barron. O. 2003. Desalination Options and Their Possible Implementation in Western Australia: Potential Role for CLW CSIRO. Internal report, CLW.

Paul G Robertson and Associates. 1998. Harris Street precinct – proposed redevelopment. Report to Katanning Shire Council (unpublished).

Winter, T., Pannell, D.J., and McCann, L. 2000. The Economics of Desalination and its Potential Application in Australia. In SEA working paper 00/12, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.

Tesla-10. 1999. Data acquisition, processing and interpretation report. Geoliner salinity survey, Katanning Creek catchment (unpublished).

Water Corporation. 2000. Desalination: A Viable Resource.

Water Direct Limited. 2002. Report on production and observation bore drilling and test pumping (unpublished).


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Water Direct Limited. 2003. Katanning townsite hydrogeological investigation (unpublished).

Whitfield and Matta. 2000. Results from a drilling and modelling investigation for the townsite of Katanning. Department of Agriculture Draft Report (unpublished).

Whitfield. 2000. Katanning pumping test. Department of Agriculture Draft Report (unpublished).