So if your against dams a simple question for you.
Where do we get water from?
I intend on living for-ever....so far so good
Guess this puts recycled sewage on the agenda again?
Here's a portable option used successfully in the drier seaboard states of west coast USA....
http://www.waterstandard.com/seawater_conversion.htm
One desalination vessel (DSV) could supply a city the size of Brisbane with two thirds of its daily water requirement....and could be moved/utilised elsewhere as droughts affect different parts of Oz
Yeah, but next time we have a drought we will have another empty dam. I think most people forget, that in a drought it does not rain, if it does not rain the dams dont fill up. Given the fact that the dam in the mary river will be a broad shallow dam, it will probably dry up quicker than the other sensible descision. Wolfdene, who canned that?? Our grand leader krudd. Our labour governments make so many excellent descisions.
Great information - why have they not looked at this technology
RELIABLE AND MOBILE
Because the SDV™ is offshore - optimally one to three or more kilometers from the coast and mobile, it can be easily moved in response to extreme weather conditions, natural catastrophes, or geopolitical and socio-economic instability. Reliability is increased with limited exposure to disruption of the local labor force or to the delivery of equipment or supplies. Additionally, its desalination process is not subject to land-based brownouts, blackouts, or other land-based interruptions because the SDV™ self-generates power onboard. This also allows the vessel to be used as an emergency supply source. At the end of the SDV's™ useful life, mobility contributes to an easier and more cost effective decommissioning process.
SPEED TO PRODUCTION
Depending on the size of the production vessel, the SDV™ can begin providing fresh water within 16 months under normal circumstances and in some cases 12 to 14 months - generally faster than land-based plants. Complexity of permitting requirements will often be reduced, resulting in a more efficient production timeline than for a land-based desalination plant. In most cases, pilot studies can be eliminated because of the intake of a cleaner source water and the conservative design parameters of the pretreatment system.
SCALABLE AND COST COMPETITIVE
The SDV™ can be scaled to deliver a capacity of 5 to 50 million gallons per day (mgd) or approximately 20,000 to 200,000 cubic meters per day (m³/d). The design uses a standard modular approach on both small and large systems. This replication minimizes the level of site-specific design, reducing costs in design and construction. Also, the produced volumes of water can be increased over time on a phased approach, without the need for the vessel to return to dry dock for additional conversion. The SDV's™ offshore location eliminates purchasing expensive coastal land and reduces the costs associated with pretreatment. Although desalination was once perceived as too expensive an option for producing water, membrane cost and energy usage have dropped dramatically. WATER STANDARD takes advantage of these reduced costs and energy efficiencies to provide competitive pricing.
CUSTOMIZED, FLEXIBLE CONTRACTING
WATER STANDARD works with each client to customize contracts for their needs. The individual or regional entities can contract on a short-term, long-term (up to 20 years) or on-demand basis, including contract design to service multiple locations as a flexible adjunct to a balanced water supply portfolio. Examples of structures include, but are not limited to, long-term water supply contracts under the traditional BOO model of Build Own Operate or partner joint ventures. Under BOO, WATER STANDARD can self-finance and own an SDV™, while the client only pays a unit cost for water. However, ownership structure can be negotiated under a joint venture.
AVOIDS CONSTRUCTION DISRUPTIONS
Because the SDV™ is converted in a shipyard, there is no disruption associated with land-based site construction, including habitat changes, environmental issues, noise pollution, increased traffic and other community issues.
Thanks Scotto
It was proposed to Captain (Anna) Bligh during the water crisis but her political affiliations lay elsewhere and she disregarded this option (even though is is many $millions cheaper than recycled water or fixed desalination plants)...
Also very environmentally friendly....
Maybe during the next drought???
Pete
I am also big on desal as another option and, yes it is clear that a dam is only as good as the rain it receives.
No , i dont want the dam up here, i have fished the sandy straits for may years now, and i dont want this beautiful area screwed up.
Will the( proposed) beaudesert dam affect the logan river system, and eventually moreton bay? I have not heard anything on this yet, but would hope it does not.
The earths surface is 2/3 water, and if you listen to the doomsayers, the polar icecaps are melting, which will in turn raise the hi tide mark between 3 - 12 mtrs?
So you would come to the conclusion, that desal is the right choice, build 1000 of them ,and get to drinking from it you people , and do it fast, for a flood is coming!!!!...lol... ( my opinion thro beer goggle glasses tonight)
Im against most of you blokes on this one. Stuff damning someone elses back yard because you want more water in a capital city. Has every house in SEQ got a full size water tank? Why not? Brisbane itself (the major water user) actually gets pleanty of water every year just not its catchment area to the west. If every house inSEQ had a large water tank this would be a huge step forward! Unitl this happens (made mandatory if possible to install a tank) then this waste of money dam should be shelved for good.
Here's a solution not just for SEQ but a infastructure project that would reap rewards for 80% of Australia.
1. Anna makes it madatory for all QLDers to instal a x size water tank within 2 years if they dont already have one. They get 1 or 2 years of free rates (the equiv of the cost of install) and after 2 years anyone that doesn't comply gets fines DOUBLE the rate discount.
2. The FED funds a pipe program where every major water supply in QLD is interconnected. They can build a train line from Darwin to Adelaide they can build this. Nth QLD has massive rainfall every year. If a percentage of overflow from this area was diverted to the south and from wivenhoe to Toowoomba and from there to the start of the murray darling system there is not only SEQ's water problems solved a big step towards NSW, VIC and SA water problems solved too.
Imagine the Murray Darling system with almost limmitless water???? Imagine the food that could not only supply Australia but the rest of the world? AND the taxes the Gov't could take from that (paying for the pipe sytem and them some in years to come)???
Huge projects like that are what Australia needs to be going into debt for. Things that benefit all in the long term. We drastically need a water solution and creating more farming output is a huge doule benefit. (remember all you were hearing on the news before the GFC over took it was the WORLD FOOD SHORTAGE). Australia could be the bread basket of the world. The dollar value of this long term is huge. Yet our Twits of State and Federal governments would prefer to hand out cash so the retail sector could get a short term boost and they could annoucnce they avoided a "technical" recession because they can't see past the bloody next election!
Yep a huge 1m deep dam will look great when it rains and we'll be in the same boat as we were in 2 years ago when it doens't. I say if you don't like water restrictions in Brisbane until we get some decent leaders then move somewhere that actually has water or pay the premium!
Cheers
Chris
Democracy: Simply a system that allows the 51% to steal from the other 49%.
They dont need to go as far as Darwin, Chris, altho i like ur train of thought....there is many megalitres of fresh water flowing into the sea from fraser island every day....all for the backpackers to swim and wash themselves and there clothes and dishes and do god knows whatelse in....
Hey insideout, not nessessarily talking Darwin just NQLD has enough water to supply SEQ and still have extra for the Murray Darling. But wouldn't rule out a pipe from the NT to NQLD also if it provided the right result. I read recently Adelaide has a problem where salinity is already over the 800ppm WHO threashold currently at 1200ppm. At 1400ppm it's suppose to have severe health concerns.
ATM SEQ is looking fine as far as water is concerned for the short term. Imagine if this years wet season up north topped up SEQ and had immediate overflow to the murray? Sure in the dry years the Murray would get cut off as SEQ should get first priority but if every single house hold above that has a water tank then thats a whole lot less being used upstream of that in the first place.
Sure this is a HUGE job that will cost big dollars now but the flow on benefit of it will be felt Australia wide for many years to come. Hey the election term is too short for tax paying voters to see the benefit so these twits wont even consider it.
Australia needs a Manhattan style project on water and this would be a great start. Stuff wasting billions on a useless dam. Dams are only good when it rains! When it rains the current dams we have are well adequate especially considering that by the time the Somerset/Wivenhoe is in need of water from Traveston that Traveston will be dry well beforehand.
Cheers
Chris
Democracy: Simply a system that allows the 51% to steal from the other 49%.
just watching postcards australia , and according to them 4 million litres of fresh water flows from eli creek alone every hour... why isnt a resource like this tapped, instead of taking up all that space for a dam, for a chance of rain???
Unbelievable....
Do you realise just how many homes cannot fit a tank in??
How many homes have not got a yard even??
How big would these tanks need to be to allow people to be water self sufficient??
What about the water needs of industry??
People in QLD had tanks in years ago and the knobs that sit in Parliament House said....get rid of the buggers. They're just a nuisance breeding mozzies.
Our house was one of those.
So maybe they should go reinstall all those tanks for a start eh??
And don't forget they do not advise to drink tank water due to all the crap coming off the roof. http://www.superwall.com.au/water_tanks_Brisbane.html
ATM SEQ is looking fine as far as water is concerned for the short term.
So why can't we use a hose??
Something is really wrong when the total water storage is at a fraction under 75%......and we cannot use a hose to wash the salt off the boat. What other city in Australia would allow that crap??
As for the pipeline from the north. Guess how big the pipe would need to be (due to internal friction of the pipe) for the necessary volume of water to just 'help' Brisbane and surrounds??
Do you realise just how many pumping stations would be also needed to assist the water flow??
How much power would be needed for the pumps??
The water situation is just like the roads, public transport, hospitals and just about anything infrastructure that should be provided by Governments of all 3 levels.
The problem is left to get out waaaay out of hand before something is done about it.
Prime example is the Gateway.
When it's finished and opened the chances are it will be too small to cater to the traffic flow.
If it is large enough the bottleneck will just move north and south.
They're be going from 6 lanes to 2 at the southern end of the SE Freeway interchange.
Do ya reckon there'll be congestion there??
What about the brand spanking new road out Springfield way??
It's supposed to take some of the congestion off the Ipswich Motorway but the knobs only made it one lane each way. Why?? It is a brand new road with room everywhere to build at least two lanes each way when everything was there building the one lane. No traffic hassles, no interference, just open slather on building the road.
Knobs. They couldn't organise a chook sandwich in a school tuckshop
What about public transport?? Catch a train from Beenleigh to the city at 8 in the morning and see if there's a problem or not.
The population warrants a new dam or 3. Build the buggers.
Also check the cost that the water will cost from desalination plants.
Very dependent on, and a large user of electricity.
So do we build more power stations then to cater for the electricity demands of the desalination plants or the extra pumps for the pipelines??...Oh, just remembered. They need water too.
If the volume of water storage is sufficient then the SE can get through periods of drought just by having the water reserves. It's just the same as if the tank in the backyard is too small. If it doesn't rain for just a short period of time they go empty but if you have a 3 megalitre tank then your home and hosed (literally) for yonks and yonks.
The total volume of water storage in SE QLD ATM is just like the 1000l tanks in the backyard. Just too small to cater for the demands in a small drought.
I intend on living for-ever....so far so good
thems the joys of city dwelling eh??
Hey Finga, "Stop Making Sense" mate, Just because there's a few dead birds on your roof and the occasional vermin stuck in your guttering doesn't mean you can't drink a cocktail of rotting animals, peeling paint and various contaminents.