Project Components
AquaSure has contracted Thiess Degrémont to design and construct the Victorian Desalination Project by December 2011.
Degrémont has an impressive history of building and operating water systems, especially desalination plants. Thiess is one of Australia’s largest and most trusted construction and service companies.
Variations of the different components making up the Victorian Desalination Project have been built many times around the world. AquaSure and its partners will be using known designs, tried and proven techniques and existing technology to build the plant and associated infrastructure.
There are four key components to the project and each one has specific design and construction requirements.
Desalination Plant
The desalination plant will draw seawater from Bass Strait and treat it to potable standards using reverse osmosis technology. The plant has an initial production capacity of up to 150 billion litres of water a year (411 million litres per day) and the capability to expand to 200 billion litres a year. It will have a very small footprint, taking up just 38 hectares of the 263 hectare site.
The plant will comprise 29 buildings. It will be set at a reduced ground level, enabling it to be integrated into the landscape and reducing the amount of energy needed to lift the seawater to the plant. The highest point of the main buildings is 20 metres above sea level, but these will be barely visible from surrounding areas.
The remainder of the site area will see one of the largest single ecological restoration projects of its kind ever undertaken in Victoria — restoring and enhancing the natural habitat and creating a new coastal park for future generations to enjoy.
Marine Tunnels & Structures
Seawater will be drawn in from an underground and undersea tunnel about 1.2km long. The water will be drawn at very low speed so that marine life is not affected.
The seawater concentrate will be discharged into Bass Strait through an underground and undersea tunnel, approximately 1.5kms long, where it will mix rapidly with moving ocean water.
Water Transfer Pipeline
An 84km long underground pipeline will be used to transfer water from the desalination plant to Melbourne’s existing water supply network. It will be able to carry up to 200 billion litres of water annually.
Underground Power Supply
The plant will connect to the existing electricity grid at Cranbourne, some 87km to the northwest, by means of a high voltage alternate current (HVAC) underground cable. The cable will be co-located underground in the same easement as the transfer pipeline to minimise impacts on its surroundings.
Fibre optic cables will also be laid with the power cables and pipeline to provide important monitoring information on the pipe and power networks. Additional capacity on this high-speed communications cable will facilitate improved broadband capability to surrounding communities.