Plans for desalination plant in Cornwall delayed - BBC.com
Plans for desalination plant in Cornwall delayed - BBC News
Plans for desalination plant in Cornwall delayed
- Published
Plans to take seawater and turn it into drinking water in Cornwall have been delayed until the start of summer 2024.
South West Water (SWW) announced in March it was planning to have two desalination plants by this September.
The company has now confirmed it is planning one, at Par, with seawater taken from St Austell Bay.
SWW added that the completion date for this plant had been set back due to land sale issues.
However, Greenpeace said SWW should prioritise fixing leaks, adding that desalination should be seen as "a last resort".
'Minimise potential disruption'
SWW said previously that desalination plants were needed to develop climate-independent sources of water in Cornwall.
Its plans involve drawing seawater from St Austell Bay to the plant in Par before pumping brine - a by-product of the desalination process - more than 2km (1.2 miles) back out into the sea.
David Harris, SWW's drought and resilience director, said the company had "explored many options" for the site.
"Having carefully considered environmental and engineering considerations we have determined that Par is the most suitable and strategic location for this project.
"We are still reviewing a few options in terms of the specific location and as we work to finalise the details of the project we continue working to minimise potential disruption to the public, community and to the environment."
'No silver bullet'
Doug Parr, from Greenpeace, said desalination was "not a silver bullet".
He said: "It's got a plethora of its own problems, including high energy use and the creation of high-salinity brine that needs disposing of.
"Leaky infrastructure is wasting up to a trillion litres of water a year in the UK.
"The government and South West Water should first prioritise fixing this, rather than reaching for answers that could generate more problems than solutions."
There are currently desalination plants in the Isles of Scilly and the Channel Islands, along with a plant in London.
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