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UKs first desalination plant opens for business

  • 02-06-2010 12:01pm
    #1
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,972 ✭✭✭✭


    London has less rainfall than Istanbul Dallas or Sydney apparently and today Thames Water opens its first desalination plant outside the city. Intended for use only when push comes to shove the green loby is already agin it.

    If its seen to be sucessful in its operation anyone else think Dublin might do likewise rather than try to fix all the pipes and/or build a new reservoir (or politically worse, take water rom the Shannon)?



    ps for some stupid reason I have to give this thread a prefix as it won't accept "no prefix" whats the story?


Comments

  • #2
    SeanW
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,882 ✭✭✭SeanW


    > the green loby is already agin it.
    That's no surprise :(

    Desalination is expensive, tbh there's not much point in either blowing money on one of these, while water continues to be lost at an obscene rate.

    Going to the Shannon makes even less sense, that will be adding 70+km of pipes to a pipework system that's already falling apart.

    Dublin needs to get its pipe system fixed ideally before anything else.


  • #3
    Macha
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 6,376 Mod ✭✭✭✭Macha


    mike65 wrote: »
    ps for some stupid reason I have to give this thread a prefix as it won't accept "no prefix" whats the story?
    If you read the Charter, you can see that we ask posters to use a relevant prefix. In this case it would be 'Policy.
    SeanW wrote: »
    > the green loby is already agin it.
    That's no surprise :(
    Desalination is not green by any stretch of the imagination. I'm not sure why you assume that it's the "green lobby" that are "at it again" as the project has been implemented by a private company, Thames Water, and the decision to go ahead with the project was made by DEFRA.


  • #4
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,972 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    So why is there a No Prefix option? :) One for the admins I guess.


  • #5
    Macha
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 6,376 Mod ✭✭✭✭Macha


    mike65 wrote: »
    So why is there a No Prefix option? :) One for the admins I guess.
    Isn't there? gah! I shall investigate


  • #6
    jacaranda
    Closed Accounts Posts: 215 ✭✭jacaranda


    mike65 wrote: »
    London has less rainfall than Istanbul Dallas or Sydney apparently and today Thames Water opens its first desalination plant outside the city. Intended for use only when push comes to shove the green loby is already agin it.

    If its seen to be sucessful in its operation anyone else think Dublin might do likewise rather than try to fix all the pipes and/or build a new reservoir (or politically worse, take water rom the Shannon)?



    ps for some stupid reason I have to give this thread a prefix as it won't accept "no prefix" whats the story?

    London already recycles most of its water and it is said that every glass of water you drink has been through 8 people or more beforehand.

    Like Dublin, London has old leaky pipes and the problem there is not that there is not enough water in the hinterland which, added to the recycling plants they have, is enough for the demand, but the problem is that so much leaks out of the pipes into the ground.

    Desalination is a grand idea, but it is very energy hungry compared to treating fresh water, so the cost of it per litre is considerably higher.


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  • #7
    Macha
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 6,376 Mod ✭✭✭✭Macha


    jacaranda wrote: »
    Desalination is a grand idea, but it is very energy hungry compared to treating fresh water, so the cost of it per litre is considerably higher.

    Do you have any figures on the different cost per litre? I know desalination is expensive but I wonder how much more expensive it is?


  • #8
    jacaranda
    Closed Accounts Posts: 215 ✭✭jacaranda


    taconnol wrote: »
    Do you have any figures on the different cost per litre? I know desalination is expensive but I wonder how much more expensive it is?

    Like you I know desalination is expensive and to take the salt out of sea water also consumes energy, but I don't have actual figures.


  • #9
    bonkey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,443 ✭✭✭✭bonkey


    While there's no actual figures, this article puts it at about twice the cost.


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