Northern Water Supply - Business Case

Consultation has concluded. Thanks for your contributions.

• Planning and environment documents submitted

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  Northern Water has lodged planning and environmental documentation under state and commonwealth legislation. Submission of this documentation will trigger formal decisions by the relevant Ministers regarding the approvals pathway for the project.

  Northern Water conveyed in the documents the potential social, environmental and economic significance of the project.

  An initial Crown Development application (DA) has been submitted under state legislation, triggering a decision to be made by the Minister for Planning (SA) to determine whether the project should be an "Impact Assessed" project (requiring an EIS) which would necessitate formal project assessment requirements.

  A referral to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has also been submitted under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (commonly known as an 'EPBC referral').

  In due course DCCEEW will undertake public consultation on the referral, prior to the Minister for the Environment and Water (Cwth) determining if further assessment is required, and the level of that assessment.

  Further updates will be made as these processes progress through government, including future opportunities for formal consultation as part of these approval processes.

  While the formal process is progressing, the project team continues to engage with community and stakeholders about what is important to them.

• Project to focus on Cape Hardy site

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  Consistent with the outcomes of the multi-criteria analysis and aligned with what we heard from many community members, further studies for Northern Water will focus on Cape Hardy as the preferred site.

  The Northern Water team continues to engage with stakeholders and the wider community as the project is further defined to help identify potential issues, concerns, impacts, opportunities, and management measures to reduce risk and enhance local community benefits.

  Northern Water will provide several local community engagement opportunities in November and December 2023 and throughout 2024 and 2025. To find out more, subscribe for updates, visit the website, or contact the project team.

  Earlier in 2023, the Northern Water team undertook broad engagement with stakeholders and the community on the results of a site selection multi-criteria analysis which found Cape Hardy to be the best performing site across a range of criteria.

  A final decision whether to progress with the project is anticipated for late 2025.This will be based on the outcomes of the assessment process, land access discussions including with Traditional Owners and the financial viability of the project.

  The earliest that water may be available for use is in 2028.

  
  

  
  

• Updated MCA - Cape Hardy site option

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  An extensive site selection process commenced in 2022, this has included input from key stakeholders, technical investigations, and a formal multi-criteria-assessment (MCA) process.

  Three sites were initially short listed (at Crag Point, Port Lowly and at Mullaquana Station). Mullaquana Station was best performing site in the initial MCA scoring process.

  A fourth site at Cape Hardy was added to the short list in mid 2023 after additional industry interest was received that reduced the financial impacts of constructing the plant so far south in the Spencer Gulf meaning was it was a potentially feasible option.

  Early engagement with key stakeholder has been favourable towards Cape Hardy as a potential site for the desalination plant.

  A supplementary MCA scoring process was undertaken for the Cape Hardy option in mid 2023. A summary of the MCA process including the supplementary process can be found here in our document library.

  

  The supplementary MCA scoring process identified Cape Hardy as the best performing site across the four options considered.

  The MCA result has been presented to the South Australian Government to help inform the selection of a preferred study site for detailed Planning and Assessment.

  The next steps of the project once a preferred study site has been identified will be:

  • Lodgement of a development application and EPBC referral for the desalination plant and pipeline,
  • detailed environmental studies (anticipated to be in the form of an Environmental Impact Statement),
  • cultural heritage survey and negotiating Native Title agreements,
  • negotiating land access agreements,
  • infrastructure procurement processes,
  • completion of off take agreements, and
  • other activities required to provide Government with clear understanding of the risks and opportunities associated with the project.

  Feedback can be provided about the MCA outcomes by completing a survey.

  Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback. Feedback will be included in the site selection chapter of the environmental impact assessment report.

• Northern Water - Next Steps

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  As part of the 2023-24 State Budget the government announced on 15 June, 2023 that it has allocated funding to partner with industry to undertake further studies including environmental studies, final engineering and costings for the Northern Water project to facilitate a final decision for the initiative.

  The final investment decision is due in the second half of 2025.

  Stay tuned to Your SAy for more information about the project and how you can be involved in the next steps of the project.

• Northern Water Supply Business Case Update - Engagement Summary Report live

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  Thank you for your interest in the Northern Water Supply Project Business Case.

  The Business Case is now complete and has been submitted to the South Australian Government. The Business Case assesses the potential for a new and sustainable water supply for the Far North and Upper Spencer Gulf by constructing a seawater desalination plant, pipeline and supporting infrastructure.

  A fundamental part of the Business Case development has been listening to the issues, concerns and opportunities that are important to stakeholders and the community. Thank you to all those who have been involved in the project so far. The feedback we received was reviewed by the project team and included in the Business Case. A summary report on what we heard during the engagement process and how we plan to incorporate this feedback into the project is now available in the document library here.

  
  

  

  Next Steps

  The South Australian Government is now reviewing the Business Case to decide if and how to proceed with the project. All aspects of the project are being carefully considered before a decision is made to proceed the project including site options, and governance and procurement process. Potential demand from Green Hydrogen is being factored into the planning. A decision on a location for detailed investigations and planning towards a desalination plant will be taken soon. Any site selected will be subject to detailed environmental assessments and ongoing community and stakeholder engagement.

  Keep talking, we are listening.

  We want to keep hearing what issues and/or opportunities are important to you. You can connect with the Project Team on 8429 4650, northernwatersupply@sa.gov.au or visit the yourSAy page again for updates and future engagement opportunities.

• MCA Report and SRG Terms of Reference uploaded

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  New documents have been added to our document library.

  The MCA report provides a summary of the MCA process that was undertaken from October 2023 to March 2023.

  The "NWS SRG Terms of Reference" is a document that describes the role of the Stakeholder Reference Group and how the group will run. The Stakeholder Reference Group is one of the ways that the NWS is following through on its commitment to transparency and accountability.

• Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler

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  An Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) has been deployed in the coastal waters off Mullaquana Station to gather hydrodynamic data from the nearshore including wave, salinity, and currents. The ADCP is one of five deployed in the Upper Spencer Gulf contributing to an oceanographic database and Gulf model. The data collected by this ADCP will be used to refine the dispersal modelling and nearshore processes for the Mullaquana Site and provide greater detail to improve design and mitigation planning for a proposed desalination plant.

• Why sites outside Spencer Gulf were eliminated from the shortlist

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  During the shortlisting process, 10 areas were considered, including two which are outside the Spencer Gulf, along the Eyre Peninsula’s West Coast.

  These areas (at Point Brown near Ceduna and north of Elliston) were assessed against the same criteria as areas within the Gulf, looking at availability of suitable land, access to good quality water supplies and how easy it would be to connect a desalination plant there to the existing and future water network.

  The team also looked at the potential cost of building and maintaining a plant there compared to the proposed Port Bonython site which has been used as a benchmark due to its similarities with the NWS project.

  Suitability of land and land impacts

  Both the Point Brown and Elliston sites lack existing infrastructure (roads, power etc) and longer pipes are needed to deliver water to users due to the remote location. These sites also require a significantly larger clearance of native vegetation than other sites. The additional construction work required was also found to present a high risk of damaging sensitive local flora and fauna and of impacting sites of significance to both Aboriginal and European heritage.

  Access to good quality water supplies

  There are benefits to accessing an open ocean water source, which both sites have access to. Benefits apply to both the water treatment process and mixing of the concentrated seawater that is returned to the ocean. These were factored into the assessment.

  It was identified, however, that the large swells and high energy ocean conditions would introduce a risk for construction work. This significantly increases the complexity and cost of construction and future maintenance of infrastructure at these sites and limits windows where this can occur.

  Connecting water supplies to users

  The largest users of the desalinated water produced by the NWS project are in the Upper Spencer Gulf and far north (cities of Whyalla and Port Augusta and mines at Olympic Dam and Carrapateena) so any delivery pipes would need to be significantly longer than the sites located within the Gulf.

  In the case of Ceduna, pipes would need to be twice as long. There is no suitable existing water delivery network in this area which we could connect to. These longer pipes would create a significant impact on the local environment during and beyond their construction such as the need for more energy and construction materials (such as concrete and steel). The additional impacts can be avoided by locating a plant closer to where the water is needed.

  In addition to the connection of the water infrastructure, it was identified that the Ceduna and Elliston sites would require more extensive road construction and larger changes to the state’s electrical network than a site within the Gulf.

  The cost

  Given the complexities outlined above and the lack of existing roads and other infrastructure (including access to a power network) in these two areas, it was found that that the cost for building and running a plant at either of these sites would be significantly higher (over $2-3 billion more) than the Port Bonython site or any of the other sites on the shortlist.

  For more information on site selection, please read our Site Selection fact sheet , call our team on (08) 8429 4650 or e-mail us at northernwatersupply@sa.gov.au

• Stakeholder Reference Group meeting - February 2023

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  The Stakeholder Reference Group for the NWS met on 15 February 2023.

  The notes from the meeting can be found here in our Document Library

• Multi-Criteria Analysis Outcome

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  On Tuesday 31 January 2023 Northern Water Supply project team together with a range of stakeholders met to undertake the second of two Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) workshops. The group was led though a scoring process by independent consultants. The included criteria was developed with the combined group in the first MCA workshop in December 2022. Stakeholders representing environmental conservation, marine and fishing industry, local Government, landscape boards and regional development participated in both MCA workshops.

  The Mullaquana site received the highest score in the MCA process followed by Point Lowly with Crag Point being the lowest scoring site across most sensitivity scenarios. This means Mullaquana was found to be the best performing site of the three considered when scored against the MCA criteria. This will be documented in the business case. Other factors such as more detailed engineering, cost and commercial considerations will be developed to help inform the government’s decision on whether to further progress the Northern Water Supply project beyond the current phase and if so on which site.

  
  

  
  

  We are now seeking community feedback on the outcome of the MCA workshop. The MCA result along with community feedback on the outcome will be presented to the South Australian Government as part of the NWS - Business Case in March 2023.

  We encourage you to provide feedback about the MCA outcome either by completing the Short Survey here or by emailing the project team directly at northernwatersupply@sa.gov.au