Little rain since July 2014 prompts Labor government to consider turning it on to top up water storage areas, particularly in state’s north-west

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Victoria’s $4bn seawater desalination plant, which has been standing idle since it was completed in 2012, may be switched on for the first time to help deal with the state’s water shortages.

A lack of rainfall, particularly in north-west Victoria, has prompted the state government to consider turning to the desalination plant, which is near Wonthaggi.

Victoria’s environment and water minister, Lisa Neville, has toured the parched Mallee and Wimmera regions of north and west Victoria and said all options would need to be considered.

The west of the state was “doing very badly”, with water storage 31% in the Wimmera region and just 10% in the Werribee and Bacchus Marsh areas. Geelong’s water catchment is at 62% capacity, down from 83% a year ago.

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Melbourne’s dams were faring better at 75% capacity, albeit experiencing a 5% drop on last year, meaning the desal plant would not immediately have to top them up.

But water held by Melbourne Water in the north of the state could be diverted elsewhere, requiring the desal plant to kick in. The government is looking to use the Wimmera Mallee pipeline, a network of pipes stretching to the north and west of the state.

“Much of Victoria has received below average rainfall since July 2014 and in fact some parts of our state have received the lowest inflows on record, worse than the millennium drought,” Neville told Victoria’s parliament. “This is having an impact across many communities. We’re seeing families and farmers having to buy water, having to cart water.

“We’ve all learned from the millennium drought that we need to take action. We aren’t praying for rain – that’s what happened in the past four years and in parts of the state the drought never broke. We want to provide water security for Victorian communities.”

Neville referred to the desal plant as an “insurance policy” but its potential use could prove politically tricky for Labor given fears it may drive up water bills.

The desal plant was commissioned by Steve Bracks’s Labor government in 2007, amid the lengthy millennium drought, and was completed in 2012.

The facility cost $4bn but was immediately put on standby as the drought broke. It costs Victoria $620m a year to keep it online, even though it has never been fully operational. It was opposed by environmentalists, who said it destroyed important habitat and caused pollution.