The state government has approved a plan for a desalination plant on the Eyre Peninsula, despite fierce objection from the local fishing industry and Indigenous groups about its location. The premier says there’s no time left time waste, and the 330-million-dollar plant must go ahead now before the region’s water supply runs out.
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00:00These pristine waters are synonymous with Port Lincoln's postcard appeal and vibrant
00:06fishing industry.
00:07But potable water is far from abundant.
00:10That underground water source is diminishing quickly.
00:14And if we don't build a decent plant and just get on with the job, people will turn on the
00:18taps in Port Lincoln and there won't be any water.
00:21Now that is completely unacceptable.
00:25It's an issue that's been flagged and shelved for years and has now become urgent.
00:30The chosen site is the one SA Water identified as the most efficient place to build the desalination
00:35plant at Billy Lights Point in Port Lincoln South.
00:39That's caused deep concern within the community, including amongst fishers, locals and elders.
00:44This is a very shallow bay.
00:46It's landlocked.
00:47It's very poor movement of water here.
00:50So that hypersaline water, plus the toxic chemicals that are used to clean a desal plant,
00:56we all discharge into this little, small bay here, small by comparison.
01:01There's nowhere else in the developed world where you'll see a desal plant in such a situation.
01:05I'm sorry, we've heard your calls, but we've also heard the science that says the Yulee
01:11Basin is running out of water and there has to be an alternate source coming from a desal
01:16plant, which is why we're building it.
01:17Local indigenous group, the Bungalow People, have previously voiced concerns about the
01:21location of the plant being Billy Lights Point.
01:23However, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Nick Champion, has said that historical indigenous
01:28fish traps will be preserved as a condition of construction.
01:32The government's approval for the plant has come before a select committee has delivered
01:36its findings on the issue.