Desalination Plants Open in Sydney, Florida Keys

New desalination plants in Sydney, Australia and in the Florida Keys began operating recently to help communities meet water supply needs. Sydney's new wind-powered seawater desalination plant opened January 28 and has the ability to generate as much as 250 million liters of water each day. The brackish water desalination plant in the Florida Keys started delivering water January 21 and has a capacity of six million gallons per day.

The new desalination plant in Sydney, Australia is expected to meet up to 15% of Sydney's water requirements, and be offset completely by renewable energy and be independent of rainfall. The plant is part of the New South Wales (NSW) Government's Metropolitan Water Plan to ensure that Sydney continues to have a secure water supply into the future.

"Sydney's Desalination Plant is on time and more than $60 million under budget," NSW Premier Kristina Keneally said. "This world-class facility is part of our plan to secure a constant water supply for Sydney's future and will be 100% offset by renewable energy.

The $1.9 billion plant will provide water for more than 1.6 million people in the greater Sydney area. The plant is expected to run for a two-year period, with further operation to be determined based on factors such as rainfall, climatic outlook, and dam levels.

The Floridan Aquifer Desalination Facility, which is located at the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority's main water-treatment plant in Florida City, is turning salty groundwater into drinking water. The $38 million plant taps into the brackish waters of the Floridan Aquifer, located more than 1,700 feet below the surface.

Water officials have traditionally used water from the shallower Biscayne Aquifer, but a growing population combined with dryer weather prompted the South Florida Water Management District to limit the amount of fresh water drawn from the Biscayne Aquifer.

The FKAA has existing desalination plants that convert seawater to drinking water on Stock Island and in Marathon. Together, those plants can produce up to three million gallons each day.