Albany council “skeptical” of Water Corporation Frenchman Bay desalination plant plan, votes for alternative

Albany councillors have rallied behind residents and maritime stakeholders concerned by a proposed desalination plant in Frenchman Bay by voting to request Water Corporation investigate alternative sites and engage in further community consultation. The unanimously supported motion was put forward by Cr Malcolm Traill, who said it was a meeting with Water Corp representatives two months ago that first “raised alarm bells”. “We saw shadows in there, and we began to suspect that there was a lack of information, and some of the questions that we asked on that occasion were inadequately answered,” he said. “We didn’t hear any of the scientific data that Water Corporation, we would hope, would have. “So we call on Water Corporation to engage effectively and comprehensively with us, with the community and all stakeholders, to be open, to be honest, to tell us what they want, what they want to do, and to answer our questions.” Deputy mayor Paul Terry said “no one has been satisfied” with the responses received from Water Corp and council was “very skeptical” as to “where they are at”. Cr Robert Sutton urged Water Corp to investigate the other top contending option, a new groundwater “paleo aquifer” source in Manypeaks that was researched several years earlier. “It’s what we want, not what they want, they’re working for us,” he said. “I couldn’t support any time putting that desal unit in when we haven’t investigated what potentially is a massive water source without the potential to wreck one of our pristine areas and all the the community angst that goes with it.” Seventeen residents spoke in support of the motion during public question time, opposing the “preferred” location of the desalination plant’s intake and outfall pipes being off the coast of Frenchman Bay, with many stakeholders saying the high salinity effluent would damage the area’s delicate ecosystem, disrupting the livelihood of businesses who rely on it and the health of King George Sound. Marine consultant Geoff Bastyan, who specialises in water quality and seagrass restoration, said it was “critical” that the area is protected. The 2023 Albany citizen of the year, who helped rehabilitate the waters of Albany’s coastal harbours and restore its marine life, urged councillors to discourage the King George Sound as a location. “Any brine discharge that is not exactly 100 per cent mixed will gravitationally flow downhill into the deep basin (of Frenchman Bay), which is totally confined, and once in there, it will not be mixed in any way,” Mr Bastyan said. “The concern then is the devastation to the whole region.” The motion was carried 8-0. In a statement to the Advertiser on November 29, Water Corporation Great Southern regional manager Adrian Stewart said the organisation had been consulting with stakeholders and planned to run information sessions in Albany next year. Mr Stewart also noted that it has not yet made a decision on the preferred new water source to meet the region’s growing demand amid decreasing supply and is considering other options, including the potential groundwater source in Manypeaks.