What is desalination?

Taking or extracting the 'salt' out of salty ocean water is one way of producing drinkable water. Australia is surrounded by the ocean and has plenty of seawater, but is it a sustainable process?

Gosford Wyong Council's Water Authority is considering the construction of a Desalination Plant as a last resort in case the drought continues and alternative resources become rare. A Environmental Impact Assessment (EIS) has been produced for the potential 20 million litres a day (20ML/d) plant which produces high quality drinking water from salt water.

Until now, the desalination option has been considered too expensive and too energy hungry and although considered and planned, this option was left on the 'shelf' as a last resource but now millions of dollars are being spent on developing it into a major long term source of drinking water.