Northern Water Supply - Business Case

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UPDATE: BUSINESS CASE CONSULTATION CLOSED

Thank you for your interest and contributions to the Northern Water Supply - Business Case.

Formal consultation on the Business Case has now closed. The Project Team are currently reviewing feedback collected. This will be included in the Business Case report to The South Australian Government and help inform their decision about if and how the project should proceed.

Community and stakeholder engagement will be a critical part of any future project stages, should the project proceed beyond the Business Case stage.

If you require anything further, or wish to register for project updates as they become available, please contact the Project Team on 8429 4650 or northernwatersupply@sa.gov.au


Exploring a new secure and sustainable water supply for the future.

What's being decided?

The Northern Water Supply (NWS) project is one of a number of projects being considered for the Upper Spencer Gulf as part of the State Government’s plan to decarbonise local industry, provide for future jobs and economic development, and position the region as a global leader in the net-zero economy.

As part of the NWS, the South Australian Government is assessing the potential for a new and sustainable water supply for the far north and Upper Spencer Gulf. The project aims to sustainably support regional communities and industries now and into the future. 

This assessment takes the form of a business case which will evaluate the environmental, social and economic benefits and impacts of building a seawater desalination plant in the region, along with a 450km pipeline which will transport the desalinated water to communities and industries across the region, including the emerging Hydrogen industry.  

We are currently looking at where might be most suitable to conduct in-depth studies on the feasibility of building a desalination plant and your views are a critical part of identifying issues/risks and opportunities/benefits that should be considered as part of the assessment process. This will in turn help inform the government’s decision on whether to further progress the Northern Water Supply project beyond the current phase.

Three sites have been identified as potentially feasible. These are shown below. For more information about the how a study site will be chosen see the study site selection fact sheet

Background

For our northern regional areas to thrive, we need a secure water supply. Taking more water from the River Murray or Great Artesian Basin is not a reliable or sustainable long-term option so a new solution is needed. 

The Northern Water Supply project business case is assessing whether a desalination plant and pipelines would provide that solution. Some of the anticipated benefits include: 

  • providing a sustainable and climate resilient water supply for northern SA 

  • reducing environmental pressures from the use of River Murray, Great Artesian Basin and other groundwater sources  

  • supporting the emerging Hydrogen industry 

  • unlocking a globally significant copper resource, required for the transition to net zero

  • supporting local and global industry decarbonisation

  • making regional and remote communities greener and more liveable

We are currently working with a range of stakeholders representing the environment, marine, mining, energy, and other local industries and regional communities to select a preferred study site from a short list of potentially economically and environmentally feasible options. More information on how we developed this short list will be uploaded soon. 

We are interested in hearing from you about the issues you feel should be considered as part of the assessment process.

For more information: 

  • View the news feed below for updates as the project progresses

Get involved

We are interested in hearing what issues and/or opportunities you would like to see considered as part of this assessment process. You can get involved by:

You can provide feedback until 28 February 2023.
 

What are the next steps?

All feedback will be reviewed by our project engagement team and included in the business case which is due to be provided to the state and federal governments in early 2023. 

A decision on whether this project will proceed past the business case, and if so, which site will be used as the study site for further in-depth investigation, is expected by mid-2023.  

Project updates will be provided on this page via the news feed below or you can register for regular updates by contacting our team at northernwatersupply@sa.gov.au You can also stay connected by clicking the Stay Informed button on this page.

UPDATE: BUSINESS CASE CONSULTATION CLOSED

Thank you for your interest and contributions to the Northern Water Supply - Business Case.

Formal consultation on the Business Case has now closed. The Project Team are currently reviewing feedback collected. This will be included in the Business Case report to The South Australian Government and help inform their decision about if and how the project should proceed.

Community and stakeholder engagement will be a critical part of any future project stages, should the project proceed beyond the Business Case stage.

If you require anything further, or wish to register for project updates as they become available, please contact the Project Team on 8429 4650 or northernwatersupply@sa.gov.au


Exploring a new secure and sustainable water supply for the future.

What's being decided?

The Northern Water Supply (NWS) project is one of a number of projects being considered for the Upper Spencer Gulf as part of the State Government’s plan to decarbonise local industry, provide for future jobs and economic development, and position the region as a global leader in the net-zero economy.

As part of the NWS, the South Australian Government is assessing the potential for a new and sustainable water supply for the far north and Upper Spencer Gulf. The project aims to sustainably support regional communities and industries now and into the future. 

This assessment takes the form of a business case which will evaluate the environmental, social and economic benefits and impacts of building a seawater desalination plant in the region, along with a 450km pipeline which will transport the desalinated water to communities and industries across the region, including the emerging Hydrogen industry.  

We are currently looking at where might be most suitable to conduct in-depth studies on the feasibility of building a desalination plant and your views are a critical part of identifying issues/risks and opportunities/benefits that should be considered as part of the assessment process. This will in turn help inform the government’s decision on whether to further progress the Northern Water Supply project beyond the current phase.

Three sites have been identified as potentially feasible. These are shown below. For more information about the how a study site will be chosen see the study site selection fact sheet

Background

For our northern regional areas to thrive, we need a secure water supply. Taking more water from the River Murray or Great Artesian Basin is not a reliable or sustainable long-term option so a new solution is needed. 

The Northern Water Supply project business case is assessing whether a desalination plant and pipelines would provide that solution. Some of the anticipated benefits include: 

  • providing a sustainable and climate resilient water supply for northern SA 

  • reducing environmental pressures from the use of River Murray, Great Artesian Basin and other groundwater sources  

  • supporting the emerging Hydrogen industry 

  • unlocking a globally significant copper resource, required for the transition to net zero

  • supporting local and global industry decarbonisation

  • making regional and remote communities greener and more liveable

We are currently working with a range of stakeholders representing the environment, marine, mining, energy, and other local industries and regional communities to select a preferred study site from a short list of potentially economically and environmentally feasible options. More information on how we developed this short list will be uploaded soon. 

We are interested in hearing from you about the issues you feel should be considered as part of the assessment process.

For more information: 

  • View the news feed below for updates as the project progresses

Get involved

We are interested in hearing what issues and/or opportunities you would like to see considered as part of this assessment process. You can get involved by:

You can provide feedback until 28 February 2023.
 

What are the next steps?

All feedback will be reviewed by our project engagement team and included in the business case which is due to be provided to the state and federal governments in early 2023. 

A decision on whether this project will proceed past the business case, and if so, which site will be used as the study site for further in-depth investigation, is expected by mid-2023.  

Project updates will be provided on this page via the news feed below or you can register for regular updates by contacting our team at northernwatersupply@sa.gov.au You can also stay connected by clicking the Stay Informed button on this page.

  • Desalination and potential marine environmental impacts - New Report Uploaded

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    We have recently added a new report and report summary to the document library.

    Gillanders BM, J Stockbridge (2022) Desalination and potential marine environmental impacts with a focus on Spencer Gulf. Report to Infrastructure South Australia. The University of Adelaide, Adelaide. 47 pages.

    This report pulls together a wide range of existing reports to establish the latest knowledge on potential impacts to the marine environment that could result from a desalination plant in the Spencer Gulf. It also identifies where there are gaps which need to be filled through additional in-depth studies once a study site is selected.

    Click on the document names to be taken directly to them.

    Desalination and potential marine environmental impacts with a focus on Spencer Gulf. Gillanders BM, J Stockbridge (2022)

    Report Summary - Desalination and potential marine environmental impacts with a focus on Spencer Gulf. Gillanders BM, J Stockbridge (2022)

    *Please note the report summary is an independent summary of the contents of the report by Gillanders BM, J Stockbridge (2022). While all care has been taken to ensure accuracy the summary is not the work of Gillanders, BM and J Stockbridge.

  • Workshop outcomes uploaded

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    A short summary of what we heard at the Stakeholder Workshop on 26 October 2022, together with a detailed record of what was said on the day, has been uploaded in the document library.

    Workshop Summary - NWS -Site Analysis Workshop 29 October 2022.pdf

    Meeting Record - NWS - Site Analysis Workshop - 26 October 2022 (draft).pdf

    Meeting record (APPENDICES) - NWS - Site Analysis Workshop - 26 October 2022 (draft).pdf

  • Latest Update - Northern Water Supply

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    Stakeholder Analysis Workshop Summary

    On Wednesday 26 October 2022, 22 key stakeholders representing 18 different organisations met in Whyalla, to discuss the Northern Water Supply project. Participants represented a wide range of interest groups and organisations including Traditional Owners, environmental groups, fisheries, community members, landholders, Local Government, state government and industry.

    A thorough project update was provided including presentations from Whyalla City Council, the Project team and South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI). A summary of each presentation is provided below and the presentations can be downloaded here.

    Following the presentations, participants were invited to take part in a range of activities where they could provide input to the planning and assessment processes for the project.

    Activity 1 related to the development of criteria to be used in a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) which will be used to inform the selection of a preferred study site to be the focus of the business case and detailed environmental studies. The first part of the activity was to review the high-level themes and related criteria which would be used to evaluate the potential sites. For the second part, participants selected their own area of interest and undertook a deeper dive, looking at what the desired outcome might look like for that criterion and what performance measures could be used in the assessment process.

    Activity 2 provided the opportunity for participants, working in these subject interest groups, to identify what they consider the most important aspects to be considered in the project assessment process, and identify how these should be addressed.

    In Activity 3 the whole group identified what they believed good project outcomes would look like for the marine environment, community, economic and environment generally. A world café model was used which allowed participants to contribute to all themes.


    Presentation summary

    Justin Commons - Whyalla City Council

    Justin set the scene by explaining the benefits that the project would bring to Whyalla and the Upper Spencer Gulf region. He explained that his vision is for Whyalla and the Upper Spencer Gulf to be a hub for environmentally sustainable development and Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) investment.

    Mike Morgan - Project Director, Infrastructure SA

    Mike provided a project overview including how we got to where we are now and what the next steps are for the project.

    Craig Headon - Principal Engineer

    Craig presented on desalination trends worldwide, desalination technology and technical considerations for this project.

    Dr Mark Doubell - SARDI Oceanography

    Mark spoke about the research that SARDI has undertaken to inform the project to date. He also provided information about the oceanographic movements in the Gulf and where there are still gaps in our knowledge.

    Lots of information was captured on the day and the team is in the process of finalising a summary of what we heard. This will be uploaded here in early December 2022.

Page last updated: 24 Mar 2023, 04:27 PM