Desalination in Western Australia
Climate independent desalination - The way forward
As Western Australia is increasingly gripped by a drying climate, we have moved quickly to review our reliance on traditional water sources such as dams, and bring on new sources that are independent of rainfall, which has been declining for some years.
Across the state, we now have two large-scale reverse osmosis seawater desalination plants that provide fresh drinking water into the Integrated Water Supply Scheme that services over 1.7 million customers.
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Perth Seawater Desalination Plant
The first plant, the Perth Seawater Desalination Plant (PSDP), was completed in late 2006 and was the first large-scale desalination plant in Australia to provide drinking water for public consumption.
More about the Perth Seawater Desalination Plant
Southern Seawater Desalination Plant
On the back of the success of the PSDP and in response to the changing climate, we completed the second major reverse osmosis seawater desalination plant in 2011, confirming the state’s role as a leader in this form of water supply in Australia and our commitment to sustainable water supply.
More about the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant
Now starting construction on expanding the second seawater desalination plant to its 100 billion litres per year capacity, by the end of 2012 around half of the state’s water needs will come from climate independent desalination.
Desalination capacities
Perth Seawater Desalination Plant: | 45 billion litres per year |
Southern Seawater Desalination Plant (Stage One): | 50 billion litres of water per year |
Southern Seawater Desalination Plant (Stage Two): | 50 billion litres of water per year |
