Executive Summary
As an environmental community group based in Melbourne, Australia, we firmly oppose the construction as well as the maintenance of operations in one of the major coastlines of Australia. We are an environmental community group that is not driven by self-interests despite knowing how having the Wonthaggi Desalination plant unbreakably established in the marine flora and fauna rich shorelines of Australia could help reduce the federation’s residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural sectors’ apprehension to expand. Egoism played a big role in the federal and state governments’ decision to support the project despite knowing the different moral, ethical, and even legal implications of the steps they have taken in relation to their decision. Countless studies and environmental experts issued statements regarding the negative environmental effects of the brine expelled by the plant into the open-ocean. There were of course others, who also appear to be experts in the process of desalination and reverse osmosis who counter the opposing statements, and that is the thing here, there is so much conflict present in the case to issue approval and allow the plant manager to start operations. There is not enough research evidence that can prove whether or not it is really environmentally-safe to consume at least 2KW of water for a cubic centimeter of clean and potable water—provided that the plant uses the latest desalination technologies, and releases tons of brines and other chemical waste and desalination by-products into the ocean every year.
Environmental Issues
Other community environmental groups, the Watershed Victoria and the famous Your Water Your Say, strongly opposed the construction of the plant several years ago by conducting regular rallies for years. Unfortunately, their concerns were ultimately turned down and the construction of the desalination plant and the starting of operations were carried on. These environmental groups are most likely concerned with the real and tangible environmental threat that this step may expose the state of Melbourne to. That environmental threat has something to do with the release of a 1600-page report published by the Environmental Effects Statements. The results presented in the report that some protected species of fish, and other sea creatures, some of which may even be unique to the waters of Australia, may be endangered, because of the direct alterations of conditions on their natural habitat. This is so far the main environmental issue that the two environmental groups we have mentioned are also fighting for.
Converting inconsumable ocean water—because of its salty or brackish properties, is an energy-consuming process . Studies have proven that even with the latest desalination technologies and strategies to optimize the energy consumption to output volume ratio, a modern desalination plant like the Victorian Desalination Plant, would require at least 2KWH of energy, which is roughly equivalent to the energy consumed by a motorized washing machine that just spun for 10 times, to produce a cubic centimeter of clean, potable water that will be delivered to the people of Melbourne’s homes located several kilometers away from the energy-glutton plant. Add the fact that a huge chunk of the total energy used to power the thousands of desalination plants in the world today are produced by burning fossil fuels and the construction of a multi-billion dollar desalination plant project impractical—because the cons may indefinitely outweigh the pros, should a proper assessment and review be conducted which unfortunately was not, and even less environmentally desirable.
Brine is basically a significantly more concentrated solution of salt and water that normally comes out of a desalination plant as a waste product which would then be excreted to the ocean , increasing the level of water salinity in nearby waters, which could potentially endanger the marine flora and fauna in the area. Aside from brine, other chemical by-products of the process of desalination that may potentially harm the environment are chlorine, heavy metals such as copper and nickel alloys, anti-scalants, coagulants and coagulant aids, anti-foaming agents and cleaning chemicals. Although it is highly likely that these group of substances being released to the ocean would lead to long term negative environmental implications, it has not been 100 percent proven that they will.
Even so, the government has already gave the go signal to start the construction of the multi-billion dollar plant—a move which kind of shows its low regards of the potential environmental impact of the project. This leads us to the topic of egoism which is a philosophical term that describes how a person predictably places himself at the center of the universe, focusing on his intellectual, physical, and social interests without considering the interests of others .
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the intention of the federal and state government behind their giving permission to start the construction of the plant was for the welfare of the Melbourne citizens and so as to not deprive them of their rights to have access to one of the most basic human necessities—water, but it appears that that decision was too self-centered because it appears that they have either unintentionally or intentionally failed to consider the possible long term environmental implications of such. This environmental issue serves as this community group’s primary basis on expressing its opposition of the construction of the Wonthaggi Desalination Plant.
References
Davidson, K. (2008). Water Policy is based on Flawed Figures. The Age.
Hopner, T. (2005). Potential Impacts of Seawater Desalination. Sabine Lattemann.
Lenntech. (2012). Desalination Pretreatment: Seawater Chlorination. Lenntech .
Melbourne Water. (2007). Seawater Desalination Plant Feasibility Study. Melbourne Water.
Stanford University Press. (2010). Egoism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
