Adelaide Desalination Plant 2.73

The Adelaide Desalination plant , formerly known as the Port Stanvac Desalination Plant, is a sea water reverse osmosis desalination plant located in Lonsdale, South Australia which has the capacity to provide the city of Adelaide with up to 50% of its drinking water needs.In September 2007 South Australian Premier Mike Rann announced that the State Government would fund and build a desalination plant to insure Adelaide's water supply against drought. The plant was financed and built by SA Water, a state-owned corporation.The plant was initially planned to have a capacity of 50 gigalitres of water per year, but was later doubled in capacity to 100 GL/year with the assistance of funding from the Australian Government. The expanded capacity represents around 50% of Adelaide's domestic water supply.The plant was completed on time and within the original budget .Stage one of the plant commenced operations in October 2011, and stage two in July 2012. The plant was officially opened on 26 March 2013.The Adelaide Desalination Project is the largest infrastructure project that the State of South Australia has funded, owns and has completed successfully.BackgroundSouth Australia, as the "driest state in the driest continent", has experienced severe water shortages during periods of drought. As drought conditions worsened during 2006-7, reduced inflows into the River Murray lead to the introduction of progressively harsher water restrictions and the future of Adelaide's water supply came to the fore as a political issue.