SA: Federal funding of $34.5m for Adelaide recycled water plant

AAP General News (Australia)
04-17-2008
SA: Federal funding of $34.5m for Adelaide recycled water plant

ADELAIDE, April 17 AAP - The federal government has pledged $34.5 million to provide
recycled water for industry, sports facilities and gardens in areas south of Adelaide.

Water Minister Penny Wong said today the project would upgrade a treatment works at
Christies Beach, in Adelaide's south, to supply about three billion litres of recycled
water annually from 2010.

Piping infrastructure will be expanded to boost the flow of recycled water to wineries
in the McLaren Vale region, saving around 500 million litres of drinking water per year.

Gardens and sporting fields in the Onkaparinga area would also benefit from the extra
supply of recycled water, Senator Wong said.

"The Rudd government is investing $34.5 million in this recycling project so that businesses
and households in the Onkaparinga area have access to water for watering gardens and crops,
without drawing on precious supplies of drinking water," Senator Wong said.

The funding announcement came as the South Australian government today granted major
project status to Adelaide's proposed $1.1 billion desalination plant.

SA Premier Mike Rann said the status ensured the project, slated to provide a quarter
of the city's water supply, would be subject to the toughest environmental scrutiny.

The government has identified a site at Port Stanvac, south of Adelaide, on Gulf St
Vincent as the preferred site for the desalination plant, which would take five years
to build.

AAP sl/jl/jlw

KEYWORD: WATER SA NIGHTLEAD

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